E:A Power of Three
by 7Annabelle43
Summary: Hollyleaf has power just like her brothers, what are her powers and how will she use it? A mysterious cat teaches her to use it. What are the mysteries behind her and her brother's powers and why would the cat teach her. After Melting Ice. Mystery/Spiritual(somewhat)
1. Prologue

Prologue

"Leafpool, will the clan accept the lie?" asked Squrrelflight, carring Lionkit and Jaykit. Her litermate nodded, hold a black she-kit.

"They will, they have to. If the prophecy is right, we need my kits or the clans are doomed."

Both she-cats padded though the snow until they push though the gorse tunnel. Thunderclan's deputy, a brown tabby tom, sat in the camp, worried. He turned to the tunnel and his eyes flickered.

"Squirrelflight! Where have you been? And Leafpool! Where were you?! Nightshimmer had to take over as a medicine cat while you were gone!" Brambleclaw's looked at the kits and his voice softened. "And where did you find those kits?"

The sister looked at each and they padded to him, putting the kits near his paws. "Brambleclaw, these are our kits. I was out hunting when I felt pain rippling though my stomach and managed to reach a hollow in a tree. I was lucky Leafpool was out there collecting herbs."

Her mate looked at her sister gratefully. "Thank you, Leafpool. Have you named them?"

"Yes. This is Lionkit-" She pointed a golden tom. "-Jaykit-" The grey tabby mewed. "-and Hollykit." The she-kit yawned and moved to Leafpool's stomach. Brambleclaw stare at the kit in surprise. "Hollykit is very close to Leafpool," he noted aloud, making the sisters cling inwardly.

"The kits have been around Leafpool and Squirrelflight for quite a while now, they would be close to them," meowed a black, feathery she-cat with violet eyes, padding out of the medicine cat den.

"Nightshimmer..." mewed Leafpool, relief lighting her eyes.

"These poor kits must be tired and cold from the journey. Brambleclaw-"

Leafpool did not listen as she padded back to the medicine den, which smell of Nightfeather. Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw nuzzled each other and took her-their kits to the nursery. The black she-cat pad to her. "Leafpool, are you fine about this?" asked her mentor.

"Yes, Nightshimmer. Thank you for helping me."

Nightshimmer flicked her ear. Just like Nightfrost, whom she was named after, she doesn't talk much and tend to reply though a twitch of a tail or a flick of an ear like earlier.

"Well...it'll be alright. After all, you know your heart now, Leafpool," Nightfeather mewed and padded away to the warrior's den.

* * *

 **This happens after Melting Ice, though incomplete. Needed to write something to peck myself up to write another fanfic. And yes, I know it is utterly confusing about Nightshimmer here. Whenever I can update more in Melting Ice, you'll be able to tell what and why have changed.**


	2. Emotions

Emotions

"Ashfur, don't you think Squirrelflight's kits are lovely?" asked his sister, Ferncloud. The tom grunted and looked away. "Ashfur, Squirrelflight is Brambleclaw's mate, not yours. When will you accept that?" asked Ferncloud gently.

"I have, Ferncloud. I have." Ashfur padded out of the nursery and looked up to see Swiftfoot with Daisy at his side. Cloudtail padded in with prey, grabbed a piece of prey and meet with his mate, Brightheart and his daughter, Whitewing. Ashfur partly glared at them and padded to the warrior den to sleep for the day.

* * *

In the nursery, a black she-kit stumbled out of her nest and looked around, wondering where she is. She remembered a bit about a tree and playing with many colored leaves. Maybe she can find some out of the cave. Hollykit stepped over her brothers and passed two she-cats. She poked though the many leaves wovened at the entrance. No leaves. She padded outside and looked up. The lights which dotted the black sky seem watch over her.

She twitched her ears and padded around, exploring. There was a pile of prey at the center but her mom said she cannot eat it yet. The clearing was surrounded by rocks and there seem to be caves everywhere, leaves covering the holes. She padded to one of the dens and many scents flowed to her nose. But other then the scents, she felt...something...and it seem to be coming from the cats. Most of it feel happy, but one is sad... angry. She followed it.

She somehow walked into the den without making noises. Hollykit signed in relieve. She followed the feeling, leading her a big grey tom. She looked up to see dark flecks in his pelt. His face has a scowl carved on. Hollykit stared and wondered why he is sad. Mom had said cuddling can make a cat happy. She decided to cuddle him.

* * *

Ashfur blinked his eyes awake as he felt something at his stomach. He curled a bit to look. "Hollykit? What are you doing here?" He asked, surprised.

Said kit looked at him and mewed. She totted to near his forepaws. Hollykit stared at him, nuzzled him and curled up at his forpaws. Ashfur was thinking of walking her up when he watch the kit sleeping peacefully. He signed and decided to leave her be. He put his head down as Hollykit twitched and left her head on his paw.

* * *

"Ashfur! It's time-," Longtail called out, before he felt another warrior's tail in his mouth.

"Quiet Longtail!" Dustpelt mewed in a hushed voice. "I think it would be a good idea that we leave them alone. I'll tell Brambleclaw about it," the younger tom continued, pushing the blind warrior out. Dustpelt turned back to his mate's brother, who was sleeping peacefully with the she-kit. Ashfur's face had a smile on him. Dustpelt twitched his whiskers and padded back out.

* * *

 **THUNDERCLAN**

Leader: Firestar-ginger tom with a flame-colored pelt and green eyes

Deputy: Brambleclaw-dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes  
Apprentice, Berrypaw

Medicine Cat: Leafpool-light brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Warriors:

Dustpelt-dark brown tabby tom  
Apprentice, Hazelpaw

Sandstorm-pale ginger she-cat with green eyes  
Apprentice, Honeypaw

Cloudtail-long-haired white tom with blue eyes  
Apprentice, Cinderpaw

Brackenfur-golden brown tabby tom; amber eyes

Thornclaw-golden brown tabby tom  
Apprentice, Poppypaw

Swiftfoot-black and white tom with amber eyes

Brightheart-white she-cat with ginger patches with blue eyes

Whitewing-white she-cat with pale green eyes

Ashfur-pale gray (with darker flecks) tom, dark blue eyes

Sorreltail-tortoiseshell and white she-cat with amber eyes

Spiderleg-long-limbed black tom with brown underbelly and amber eyes  
Apprentice, Mousepaw

Brook Where Small Fish Swim (Brook)-brown tabby she-cat with gray eyes, formerly of the Tribe of Rushing Water

Stormfur-dark gray tom with amber eyes, formerly of RiverClan

Birchfall-light brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Nightshimmer-feathery black she-cat with purple eyes, kit of Violet and Fuzz

Longtail-blind, pale tabby tom with black stripes

Redstrike-red tom with icy blue eyes, kit of Nightfrost(Scourge) and Red

Silveryflight-silver tom with green eyes, formerly of Bloodclan, was known as Dark

Dewyfern-pale golden she-cat, kit of Cinderpelt and Longtail

Apprentices:

Berrypaw-cream-colored tom

Hazelpaw-small gray and white she-cat

Mousepaw-gray and white tom with green eyes

Cinderpaw-gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Honeypaw-light brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Poppypaw-tortoiseshell she-cat

Queens:

Ferncloud-pale gray (with darker flecks) she-cat, green eyes, mother of Dustpelt's kits: Icekit and Foxkit

Daisy-cream-colored, long-furred cat from the horseplace, Swiftfoot's mate

Squirrelflight-dark ginger she-cat with green eyes, mother of Brambleclaw's kits: Lionkit, Hollykit, and Jaykit

Elders:

Mousefur-small dusky brown she-cat

 **SHADOWCLAN**

Leader: Blackstar-large white tom with huge jet-black paws

Deputy: Russetfur-dark ginger she-cat with green eyes

Medicine Cat: Littlecloud-very small tabby tom with blue eyes

Warriors:

Oakfur-small brown tom

Rowanclaw-ginger tom with green eyes  
Apprentice, Ivypaw

Smokefoot-black tom  
Apprentice, Owlpaw

Snowbird-pure white she-cat with green eyes

Apprentices:

Ivypaw-black, white, and tortoiseshell she-cat

Owlpaw-light brown tabby tom

Queens:

Tawnypelt-tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes

Elders:

Cedarheart-dark gray tom

Tallpoppy-long-legged light brown tabby she-cat

 **WINDCLAN**

Leader: Onestar-brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Deputy: Ashfoot-gray she-cat

Medicine Cat: Barkface-short-tailed brown tom  
Apprentice, Kestrelpaw

Warriors:

Tornear-tabby tom  
Apprentice, Harepaw

Crowfeather-dark gray tom with blue eyes  
Apprentice, Heatherpaw

Owlwhisker-light brown tabby tom

Whitetail-small white she-cat

Weaselfur-ginger tom with white paws

Apprentices:

Kestrelpaw-brownish-gray tom with little white splotches

Harepaw-brown and white tom

Heatherpaw-light brown tabby she-cat with heather blue eyes

Queens:

Nightcloud-black she-cat with amber eyes, mother of Crowfeather's kit: Breezekit

Elders:

Morningflower-tortoiseshell queen with amber eyes

Webfoot-dark gray tabby tom

 **RIVERCLAN**

Leader: Leopardstar-unusually spotted golden tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Deputy: Mistyfoot-gray she-cat with blue eyes  
Apprentice, Dapplepaw

Medicine Cat: Mothwing-dappled golden she-cat with amber eyes  
Apprentice, Willowpaw

Warriors:

Blackclaw-smoky black tom

Whiteclaw-dark tom with one white paw

Voletooth-small brown tabby tom  
Apprentice, Minnowpaw

Reedwhisker-black tom with dark gray eyes  
Apprentice, Pouncepaw

Mosspelt-tortoiseshell she-cat with blue eyes  
Apprentice, Pebblepaw

Beechfur-light brown tom

Rippletail-dark gray tabby tom

Apprentices:

Dapplepaw-mottled, gray she-cat

Willowpaw-dark gray tabby she-cat with bright green eyes

Minnowpaw-dark gray-and-white she-cat with amber eyes

Pouncepaw-ginger-and-white tabby tom

Pebblepaw-mottled, pale gray tom

Queens:

Dawnflower-pale gray she-cat

Elders:

Heavystep-thickset tabby tom(D)

Swallowtail-dark tabby she-cat with green eyes

Stonestream-gray tom with blue eyes

* * *

"So, the three are here now..." murmured a black and white she-cat with silver-colored scars, her blind eyes seemingly gazing into the distance.

* * *

 **A hint of Hollyleaf's power.**


	3. Lookout for Foxes

**No, Hollyleaf's power do not make cats happy. It's more of a mix of Dovewing's and Jayfeather's powers and you have to remember how children can be when they see a sad person(sometimes). I may or may not answer the reviews, depending on what the review is about.**

 **And sorry for the constant change in Nightshimmer's name(like Nightfeather, Nightbird, Nightwhisper, Nightlight, Nightgaze, etc). All because I just couldn't decide on a name. All of them suit her in some way.**

* * *

Lookout for Foxes

Hollykit threw a mouse high into the air. "You'll never catch it!" She mewed to Lionkit, who attempt to catch it. The mouse sailed over his head, landing on the ground. The golden tabby rushed after the fresh-kill. At the same time, without needing to look back, Hollykit jumped on her brother, spinning in the air.

"Oof! Watch out!" Jaykit turned his blind blue eyes to Hollykit.

"You're awake at last!" Hollykit sensed Lionkit had just thrown the mouse her way. Sneaky Lionkit, did he think he can catch her off guard? Hollykit rolled off her brother, pushing her hind paws into his frank. With a leap, she twisted away and grasped the mouse midair. Hollykit looked down to her brother, who was up in his paws.

"Catch this, Jaykit!" Hollykit mewed. She landed on her paws and threw the mouse his way. Jaykit turned as it whistled past, his jaws snapping the air. "Slow slug!"

"I've got it!" Lionkit called. The maned kit wiggled his hindquarters and pounced after the mouse. Jaykit let out a playful growl, leaping at Lionkit. Lionkit was pushed out of the way and Jaykit stretched out his neck to reach the mouse. He landed in a clumsy skid and rolled. Hollykit widen her green eyes as she saw where he is rolling to. Jaykit bumped into Ferncloud, shocked at the squirming bodies of Foxkit and Icekit under him.

The queen had a scowl on her face, pushing Jaykit off the kits with her hind paws. Hollykit and Lionkit padded to his side. "Have I hurt them?" Jaykit gasped.

"Of course not," Ferncloud snapped. "You're too small to squash a flea!" Foxkit and Icekit mewled as she tucked them closer into her belly. "But you three are getting too rough for the nursery!"

"Sorry, Ferncloud," Hollykit mewed.

"Sorry," Jaykit echoed. The queen's anger would not last. She would easily forgive kits she had suckled—when Squirrelflight's milk had not come, it was Ferncloud who had fed Jaykit, Hollykit, and Lionkit in the moons before Foxkit and Icekit were born.

"It's about time Firestar made you apprentices and moved you to the apprentice den," Ferncloud meowed.

"If only." Lionkit sighed, his ears flattened.

"It won't be long," Hollykit pointed out. "We're almost six moons old."

"Well, you're not six moons yet! And until you are, you can do your playing outside!" she ordered.

"Yes, Ferncloud," Lionkit replied meekly.

The black kit padded to the nursery entrance. "Come on, Jaykit," Hollykit called. "Bring the mouse with you." The branches of the bramble bush rustled as she slid out through the nursery entrance.

Outside, the air smelled crisp and frosty. The snow crunched under her paws. There were two more crunches, her brothers following behind her. Hollykit sat on the snow, looking around the clearing Firestar was sharing tongues with Sandstorm below Highledge. Dustpelt sat with them. Though she could not hear them, Hollykit could tell they were talking about the warrior's den as Dustpelt's tail had pointed to the thorn bush.

Brightheart and Cloudtail were grooming each other in a pool of sunlight on the other side of the clearing. Brightheart paused from her washing. "How are you today, Jaykit?"

Jaykit placed the mouse between his paws. "I'm fine, of course," he meowed, somewhat annoyed. He flung the mouse high over her head. Hollykit stood on her hind paws, her mouth open wide. A furry mane tackled her to the ground and the two grappled. Lionkit push her to the ground. Hollykit snapped at his paws, forcing him off her. Both stood on their hind paws, using their fore paws trying to push the other away from the prize.

Lionkit won the prize, pushing Hollykit away and grabbed the mouse in his jaws. The black kit chased after her brother, tackling him and trying to grab the mouse. But every time she came close to the mouse, Lionkit turned his neck or put his back to her. Hollykit growled and looked to Jaykit. She rushed to her other brother, tackling him to the ground.

"Are you playing with us or not?" Hollykit demanded.

Jaykit leaped up, shaking himself. "Of course I am!"

"Well, Lionkit's got the mouse, and he won't let me have it!" Hollykit complained.

"Let's get him then!" Jaykit raced to his bigger brother, sending snow everywhere. He bundled into Lionkit and pressed him to the frosty earth while Hollykit dragged the mouse from Lionkit's claws.

"Unfair!" Lionkit protested.

"We don't have to be fair," Hollykit squeaked triumphantly. "We're not in Starclan yet!"

"And you never will be if you keep playing with food that way!" Stormfur had paused beside them on his way to the warriors' den. His words were stern, though his voice was warm. "It's leaf-bare. We should thank Starclan for every morsel."

Lionkit wriggled out from underneath Jaykit. "We're just practicing our hunting skills!"

"We have to practice," Jaykit added, sitting up. "We'll be apprentices soon."

Stormfur was silent for a moment. The leaves from the warrior's den rustled and Longtail padded out into the snow. The blind warrior had his eyes clawed by a rabbit. At first, every cat thought he was a lost cause. But a warrior in the clan knew how to teach him to fight and hunt while blind and he remained a warrior since.

"Of course," Stormfur murmured, after watching the elder tom pad away from the den. "I was forgetting."

Jaykit seem frustrated. His tail tip twitched angrily and his lips curled. Hollykit opened her mouth when her belly rumbled. "H-how about we eat this mouse instead of playing with it?"

"You two share it," Lionkit offered. "I'll get something from the fresh-kill pile."

Both of her brothers turned to the fresh-kill pile. Jaykit's nose twitched towards the pile. He took in a deeper breath, opening his jaws to draw the scents into his mouth. He padded past his brother, his tail held stiffly behind him.

"What are you doing?" Lionkit asked, stepping out of the way.

Jaykit didn't answer. He nosed his way in among the small dead bodies, caught hold of a wren, and pulled it free. "Look!" he mewed, rolling the bird over with his paw. The creature's belly was alive with maggots.

"Ugh!" Hollykit squealed, squirming.

"Well spotted," Leafpool praised them, dropping bile-soaked moss at her paws as she stopped by them. "I know prey is scarce at the moment, but better to eat nothing than to eat something that will hurt your belly."

"Jaykit found it," Hollykit told her. The amber eyes glitter with warmth at them.

"Well, he's saved me a patient," Leafpool meowed sternly. "I'm busy enough as it is. Brackenfur and Birchfall have whitecough."

"Do you want help gathering herbs?" Jaykit offered hopefully.

"You could gather far more herbs with us to carry them back to camp!" Lionkit put in, his tail twitching.

"You know you're not meant to leave the camp until you're apprentices," Leafpool reminded them.

"But you'll need help if there are sick cats...," Jaykit insisted.

Leafpool silenced him by flicking the tip of her tail over his mouth. "I'm sorry, Jaykit," she meowed. "It won't be long until Firestar gives you your apprentice names. But until then, you'll have to wait like any other kits."

Jaykit's tail twitched crossly. "I'm sorry," Leafpool repeated. "But that's just the way it is." She picked up the foul-smelling moss and padded back to the medicine den.

Her golden brother gave Jaykit a friendly nudge. "Nice try," Lionkit whispered in Jaykit's ear. "But it looks like we're stuck in the camp for a while longer."

"Leafpool always thinks she can win us over just because she brings wool for our nests from the moorland," Jaykit hissed. "Or pieces of honeycomb to lick. Why can't she just give us what we really want—a chance to explore outside the camp?"

Hollykit swished her tail over the frozen ground. Like her brothers, she wanted to go out and explore the forest. But as much as she wanted to... "But she's right," she mewed grudgingly. "We must stick to the warrior code."

They ate, sharing the mouse and a vole between them. As they were finishing off the prey and cleaning their muzzles, a rustle in the thorn barrier that protected the entrance to the camp signaled Berrypaw's return. Daisy's kit charged over to the fresh-kill pile and threw down his catch—a plump wood pigeon.

"Where's Brambleclaw?" Berrypaw called out to the kits.

"He's with Squirrelflight," Jaykit replied. "They're checking for loose stones." His gray ears pricked to the stone wall. "Up there," he told Berrypaw, lifting his nose toward them.

"You're sharp today, Jaykit!" Berrypaw meowed. "I wanted to show him my pigeon and ask him if we were doing battle training after sunhigh."

"You must be really good at hunting." Lionkit sighed, clearly thinking the same thing his siblings are. _Why can't I be an apprentice now?_

"It's just practice," Berrypaw told them. "Look." He crouched down. "This is how you begin."

Lionkit jumped to the advice, his tail high up.

"Get your tail down!" Berrypaw ordered. "It's sticking up like a bluebell!"

Lionkit's tail slapped against the frozen earth.

"Now pull yourself forward, smooth as a snake," Berrypaw commanded. Lionkit padded forward a bit, his fur ruffling.

"You look like you've got wind!" Hollykit crowed.

Lionkit gave a playful hiss and leaped at her. They rolled to the ground. Hollykit fought back with her front paws, purring while Lionkit pummeled her belly with his hind paws. They stopped as two warriors burst into camp, Spiderleg and Thornclaw, with ragged breathing. Lionkit got off Hollykit as she rolled to her paws.

"What is it?" Firestar meowed.

Spiderleg drew in a deep breath, then announced, "There's a dead fox on our territory!"

"Where?" Firestar's meow was tense.

"By the Sky Oak," Thornclaw mewed, panting. "It was killed by a trap."

Loose pebbles clattering down the wall of the hollow. Hollykit turned to see Brambleclaw was scrambling down into the camp, followed by Squirrelflight.

"What's happening?" he called.

"Thornclaw and Spiderleg have found a dead fox," Firestar explained. "Killed by a trap."

"Male or female?"

"Female," Spiderleg told her.

"Then there may be cubs," Brambleclaw growled.

"What harm can a couple of fox cubs do?" Jaykit whispered to Hollykit, puzzled.

"Cubs grow up into foxes, mouse-brain!" she hissed back. "An adult fox can kill a cat."

"The fox had the scent of milk on her," Thornclaw reported.

"So there are definitely cubs," Firestar concluded. The warriors' den rattled as Ashfur scrambled out, wide eyes glancing to and fore at his leader and the two warriors.

"Where was this trap?" Brambleclaw asked.

"The trap is lakeside of the camp, not far from the Sky Oak."

"The cubs must be near," Brambleclaw guessed. "Their mother will not have wandered far from them."

"What should we do?" Ferncloud had emerged from the nursery. "We can't let the forest be overrun by foxes! What about my kits?"

"We must find the den," Brambleclaw replied without hesitation.

"If the cubs are very young, they'll starve without their mother," Firestar meowed. "It would be best to kill them quickly."

"What if they're old enough to survive alone?" Hollykit asked curiously.

"Then they must be driven out," Firestar told her. "They can't be allowed to settle in our territory."

"The cubs will be hungry by now," Ashfur pointed out.

"What if they've ventured out of their den already?"

"They might find the camp!" Ferncloud gasped.

"The camp will remain well guarded," Firestar promised. "I'll take Sandstorm and check the old Thunderpath up to the empty Twoleg nest. Brambleclaw, you sort out the other patrols." The ThunderClan leader and his mate raced away through the prickly thorn barrier that shielded the camp from the forest.

"Stormfur, Brook!" Brambleclaw called. "Patrol outside the hollow! Ashfur, guard the entrance."

Brightheart and Cloudtail paced in front of him. "What do you want us to do?"

"Head toward the Shadowclan border," Brambleclaw told them. "The earth is sandy there, ideal for a den. Squirrelflight will lead you. Do whatever she tells you. There may be more traps, and Squirrelflight is the best at springing them. Take Cinderpaw, but keep her close to you."

Cloudtail called his apprentice's name, but the young gray tabby was already charging across the clearing. Squirrelflight headed toward the entrance, blushing against her kits.

Brambleclaw called to Thornclaw and Spiderleg, "Go back to where you found the fox. See if you can trace its scent back to her den."

Sorreltail's kits: Poppypaw and Mousepaw were waiting expectantly, hardly able to stand still.

"Can we go with them?" Poppypaw called.

"Yes, but do everything your mentors tell you," Brambleclaw warned.

Hollykit twitched her tail. She wanted to go too!

"We're not going to be left behind!" Lionkit suddenly announced. "Brambleclaw!"

"What?" Brambleclaw's voice was impatient.

"Can't we do something to help?" Lionkit begged. "We're nearly apprentices."

" _Nearly_ isn't good enough," Brambleclaw replied. Lionkit looked down, disappointed. Brambleclaw's voice soften. "You, Hollykit, and Jaykit can help guard the camp with the remaining warriors. I'm taking Dustpelt and Hazelpaw to search the lakeshore. We need brave cats to make sure those fox cubs don't come into the hollow. If you scent or see anything strange, send Leafpool to fetch me at once."

"Okay," Lionkit mewed eagerly. He hurried back to his brother and sister. "We've got to guard the camp," he told them. "In case the fox cubs try to get in."

"You don't think the fox cubs would really get this far, do you?" Jaykit mewed grumpily. "There must be a Thunderclan apprentice behind every tree out there. Brambleclaw's just trying to keep us busy."

Lionkit sat down with a bump, like a leaf that had been dropped by the breeze. "I thought he really wanted us to help."

"You never know," Hollykit mewed. "The fox cubs might head this way, and if they do I bet we could smell them first-especially with Jaykit helping."

"You're just as bad as Brambleclaw," he snapped. "Stop trying to pretend we're important to the clan when we're not."

Hollykit kneaded the ground with her forepaws. "We will be important one day," she vowed.

Lionkit suddenly stood up and turned in an excited circle, his tail fluffing out. "We'll be important today!" he declared. "We're going to chase those fox cubs off Thunderclan territory ourselves!"

Hollykit gasped. "But if we leave the camp without permission, we'll be breaking the warrior code!"

"We'll be doing it for the good of the Clan," Lionkit argued. "How can that be against the warrior code?"

Jaykit thought of something else. "We're not warriors yet-we're not even apprentices! So why do we have to obey the warrior code?"

As the kits continue with their growing plan, purple eyes stared at them before shaking her black head. The she-cat turned to the stone wall, knowing what will happen next.


	4. Hunting Foxes, Hunted

Hunting Foxes, Hunted

"Can you smell that?" Jaykit asked Lionkit and Hollykit, his nose turned to the largest tree they have seen.

"Ugh!" Lionkit wrinkled his nose, landing on his rump.

"It must be the dead fox!" Hollykit guessed. "We're near the trap."

"Can you see it?" Jaykit asked.

Hollykit wriggled away from him and peeked out of the hole. "I can see over the root!" she whispered from just above his head. "The dead fox is lying under the oak. The patrol is beyond it, searching the bracken." She hopped from her hidden spot.

"They're looking in the wrong place," Jaykit mewed, turning to the sycamore. "The fox came past this tree," he told the others. "I can smell her milkscent."

"We've found her trail!" Hollykit mewed.

Lionkit scrabbled out from under the root. "Let's follow it! It'll lead us to her cubs!"

Jaykit turned away from where Thornclaw, Spiderleg, Poppypaw, and Mousepaw were plunging through the frost-blackened undergrowth. Heading out from the sycamore roots, he padded along the scent of the milk-trail. His senses trained only on the milk-scent, Jaykit had not noticed the spiky bush.

"Watch out!" Lionkit warned. "There are brambles ahead."

"I'll find a way through!" Hollykit offered. She pushed into the lead and wriggled into the branches. Looking though the branches, she spotted a narrow tunnel small enough for them to fit though. Hollykit poked out of the branches. "I found a path!"

Lionkit nodded while Jaykit reluctantly followed them. She made sure to step in places where it would be easy for Jaykit. They reached a small clearing. Hollykit open her jaws, catching fox scent. She looked to the bracken.

"Wait here!" Hollykit ordered.

"Why?" Lionkit objected.

"Just wait while I take a look behind this bracken!"

"I'm coming too," Lionkit insisted.

Why did her brother had to be so stubborn? "We don't want the cubs to know we're here," Hollykit mewed. "If all three of us go blundering in, they'll know something's up and we'll lose the element of surprise."

"My golden pelt will blend in better against the bracken than your black fur," Lionkit pointed out. Hollykit signed and nodded.

"What about me?" Jaykit mewed.

"We won't attack the den without you," Hollykit promised. "But first, you and I will wait here while Lionkit finds the way in."

"Come back as soon as you find it," Jaykit whispered as Lionkit disappeared into the bracken. They waited for a while til Lionkit finally returned.

"The main entrance to the den is right behind this clump," Lionkit whispered, shaking leaves from his pelt. "But there's a smaller entrance on the other side of the lump of earth-probably an escape route-that leads into the back."

"Are the cubs inside?" Jaykit asked, his tail twitching with anticipation.

"I didn't go in, but I could hear them crying for food."

"They must still be young, then," Hollykit guessed. "Otherwise they'd have come out by now."

"It'll be easier to flush them out if we go down the escape passage," Lionkit proposed. "If we rush them, the surprise will be enough to get them out of the den, and then we can chase them toward the border."

"Which way is the border?" Hollykit asked.

Lionkit snorted impatiently. "There'll be a border whichever way we drive them!" he snapped. "Thunderclan territory doesn't go on forever. Let's get on with it, before Thornclaw finds them and takes all the glory." He surged away into the bracken before either Jaykit or Hollykit could reply. He led them up the slope, out of the bracken, and over the top of the leaf-strewn mound of earth.

"The escape route is here," he announced, skidding to a halt.

"It's no bigger than a rabbit hole!" Hollykit mewed in surprise, staring at the shockingly small hole. Aren't foxes suppose to be big?

"Perhaps that's what it used to be," Lionkit answered, shrugging. "Who cares, so long as we can fit down it?"

Thornclaw's meow sounded in the trees not far away. The warrior patrol must have given up searching the bracken near the dead fox and were heading toward the mound of earth.

"Hurry!" Lionkit hissed. "Or Thornclaw will find the cubs first!"

Jaykit dove in first, followed by Lionkit then Hollykit. The black kit followed the golden tail of her brother. The air was warm and stank of fox—more than one. Jaykit let out a threatening hiss. Lionkit, at his side in an instant, spat ferociously, and Hollykit gave a vicious yowl.

Hollykit flatten her ears as she realized how big fox cubs were. Fear shot through her as the cubs returned their cry with a shrieking cry of their own.

"They're huge!" wailed Lionkit.

"Let's get out of here!" Jaykit screeched. Jaykit bolted back to the small tunnel, Lionkit and Hollykit right at his paws. Hot breath followed her heels, jaws snapping at her tail. Hollykit ran as fast as her small paws could. She shot by Thornclaw's patrol. Thornclaw yowled in surprise as she sped into the trees, but she dared not stop, fearing the snapping jaws behind her. It was a while before she hurtled into Brambleclaw's patrol on its way back from the lakeshore.

Brambleclaw grabbed her by the scruff, stopping her. "What's happening?" Brambleclaw demanded. "What are you doing out here?"

Hollykit opened her mouth, trying to explain. Instead she panted, her heart thudding like a woodpecker on a hollow tree. Her small body shook badly from the flight.

Spiderleg caught up with her. "The kits found the fox cubs," the black warrior told Brambleclaw. "It seems they decided to organize a patrol of their own."

Hollykit did not dare catch her father's eye.

"Where are Lionkit and Jaykit?" Brambleclaw growled.

"Lionkit's with Poppypaw," Spiderleg reported. "He's okay. We haven't found Jaykit yet, but the fox cubs have scattered. It's going to take a while to hunt them out." The apprentice had followed Spiderleg, Lionkit dangling from her mouth.

Brambleclaw glanced up at the sky and muttered under his breath, then escorted Hollykit and Lionkit unceremoniously back to the ThunderClan camp. His thick tail sweep the grass and fallen leaves angrily.

* * *

"What are you doing, Nightshimmer?" The pale golden she-cat asked. The black cat had her legs bent, preparing to jump. Nightshimmer simply blinked and nodded to the top of the stone wall.

"Waiting for someone." Dewyfern was about to ask who when there was a shriek from above. She recognized the small gray tabby, Jaykit. Why is he up there? Isn't he and his sibling suppose to be in the nursery?

A black blur jumped to Jaykit, grabbing his scruff. Nightshimmer landed neatly on the side of the stone wall and leap back to the ground. Jaykit shuddered as Nightshimmer gently put him to the ground.


	5. Warning

Warning

Hollykit waited in the center of the clearing, where Brambleclaw had left her. The sun was sinking behind the trees, pulling a shadow across the camp. Lionkit sat beside her, his pelt golden in the fading sunshine. Cold air drifted down into the hollow, and Lionkit shivered. Jaykit was given some water earlier and was waiting with them for Firestar.

She dug her claws into the ground to stop her paws from trembling. How was their grandfather going to punish them this time?

She glanced around, hoping no cat was staring at them. Mousefur was leaning against halfrock, a smooth low stone that stuck out of the ground near the entrance to the elders' den. It would still be warm from the sun. Dustpelt was sharing tongues with Whitewing beside the thornbush that formed the warriors' den. His apprentice, Hazelpaw, nodded to him before picking up a mouse from the fresh-kill pile and carrying it over to the apprentices' den. Her littermates, Mousepaw and Berrypaw, were there already, eating.

Hollykit caught Mousepaw's eye. The young gray-and-white tom blinked sympathetically at her before looking away. Hollykit lifted her chin a little higher. She wasn't going to let any cat see how scared she was. She would take her punishment like a true warrior.

She watched Sorreltail carry fresh-kill to her mate, Brackenfur. The golden-brown tom was resting beneath Highledge, his breath hoarse after his bout of whitecough. Sorreltail skirted the clearing, avoiding the kits, and dropped a mouse at his paws.

"How are you?" she asked him.

"Better," he croaked. "I'll be fine in a couple of days. Birchfall's recovered already, thanks to Leafpool."

"Well, at least you're not in the medicine den anymore," Sorreltail meowed gratefully.

"Leafpool said it'd be better to breath fresh air since it's warmer out here now-" Hollykit toned out. She glanced at Jaykit, who was now calm, though his fur is now messy from his scare. She sighed ruefully. "We shouldn't have gone out."

"I wish you had realized that earlier!"

Firestar's meow took Hollykit by surprise. Tiny stones were still tumbling into the clearing where he had leaped down the rockfall that led from his den.

Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight followed him down and stood a little behind the Thunderclan leader. Hollykit's heart sank when she saw anger in her father's eyes and disappointment in her mother's. She stared down at her paws, remembering the disastrous ending to their assault on the fox's den.

Hollykit leaned against Lionkit as Firestar, Squirrelflight, and Brambleclaw lined up in front of them. She was glad she didn't have to face them alone.

"All of you are okay," Firestar mewed. "But Thornclaw's patrol has not returned. Which means they are still hunting the fox cubs."

"What possessed you to leave the hollow?" Brambleclaw demanded.

Firestar narrowed his eyes. "I know they are your kits, Brambleclaw," he meowed, "but I'll deal with this."

Squirrelflight's tail flicked. Hollykit guessed there were a few sharp words she wanted to share with her kits, but she held her tongue as Firestar spoke.

"We only wanted to help the Clan!" Hollykit protested.

"Then do as you are told!" Firestar growled. "What if Jaykit had died? Would that have helped the Clan? You were lucky that Nightshimmer was there." His fierce gaze flicked from Lionkit to Hollykit to Jaykit, and they shook their heads.

Firestar pressed on. "You almost led the foxes right into the camp-as it is, you have given them a scent trail they're not likely to forget!"

"We thought if we could find the foxes-" Lionkit began.

"If you'd thought at all you would have let our warriors deal with the foxes and the clan would be safe now!" Firestar lashed his tail. "Instead we have three hungry foxes who know where our camp is!"

Hollykit glanced guiltily at the nursery. Squirrelflight pawed the ground in small, frustrated steps. Firestar nodded for her to speak.

"I'm so disappointed in you three!" she burst out. "What if you died?!"

"Sorry," all three kits said in unison.

"...Are you going to stop us from becoming apprentices?" Lionkit asked in a small voice.

Hollykit's breath caught in her throat. Would their father really do that? She looked pleadingly up at him.

"If it were up to me," Brambleclaw meowed, "I would make you wait another moon. But it is Firestar's decision."

The Clan leader narrowed his eyes. "I'm not going to decide right now," he told them. "Go back to the nursery. Ferncloud and Daisy will keep an eye on you, and it is up to you to make sure one of them knows where you are at all times. If you're not where you are supposed to be, then you're clearly not ready for the responsibilities of apprenticeship."

"We won't wander off again," Lionkit promised.

"Hollykit?" Firestar prompted.

"I won't do anything that might stop me from becoming an apprentice," she vowed, meaning every word.

"Jaykit?"

"I'm with them," Jaykit declared.

"Very well," Firestar meowed. "I just hope you have learned something today. True warriors think of the Clan's safety before anything else." He turned away, padding to where Brackenfur was sharing tongues with Sorreltail.

His parting words seared Hollykit's fur. She had let her clan down. She glanced nervously at Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight. "We're sorry," she ventured.

"I should hope so." Squirrelflight sighed.

"You should be setting an example," Brambleclaw added.

Squirrelflight's gaze softened a little. She bent down and licked Jaykit, Hollykit and Lionkit each between their ears. "I know you thought you were doing the right thing," she sympathized.

"We just wanted to help the Clan," Hollykit insisted.

"Your chance will come," Brambleclaw promised. "Now off to the nursery, you three."

Hollykit nodded. Suddenly she heard pawsteps pounding toward the camp. A voice called from beyond the barrier. It was Thornclaw. The golden brown tabby hurried through the thorns with Spiderleg, Poppypaw, and Mousepaw close behind.

Firestar left Brackenfur and Sorreltail and padded over to meet them. Brambleclaw joined him. "Any luck finding them?" the deputy asked.

"Poppypaw and Mousepaw chased one of the cubs over the border into Shadowclan territory," Thornclaw reported. "Redstrike and Silveryflight chased off the other two to Windclan territory."

Hollykit let out a breath.

"Where is Redstrike and Silveryflight?" Firestar asked.

"They were out hunting when they encountered the foxes. They're bringing back prey as we speak."

Firestar nodded. "I see. Looks like we were lucky with the fox cubs."

Hollykit stared at the ground, kneading it. A tail touched her side. Hollykit caught Squirrelflight's eye. Her mother blinked at her sympathetically. "Don't be too hard on yourself," she murmured. "Every cat makes mistakes. You just have to learn from them."

"I will make it up to the Clan," Hollykit promised.

"I know you will," Squirrelflight assured her. "Now, go to the nursery, kits."


	6. Thorns and Herbs

Thorns and Herbs

Hollykit was dreaming that the nursery was filled with hedgehogs. They filed in through the entrance, rudely brushing Ferncloud and her kits aside and settling into the mossy nest around her. Their sharp prickles spiked her back. She fidgeted to move away from her uncomfortable new denmates.

"What are you doing here?" she muttered. "Go away!" But the prickles still dug into her. Opening her eyes, she twisted around and saw Lionkit curled up asleep beside her. He looked like he'd fallen out of a tree, his golden pelt ruffled and studded with black thorns. Hollykit circled her ears to a yawn. She turned to her brother, glaring at her out of annoyance.

"Sorry...was having bad dreams, Jaykit."

Jaykit groaned and stretched, touching Lionkit's pelt. "Ouch! No wonder you were moving so much. Lionkit is covered in thorns."

Hollykit nodded and jabbed Lionkit with her forepaw. "Hey!" she whispered. "Where did you pick up these thorns? They're ripping me to shreds."

Lionkit opened his amber eyes. "What?" he murmured, his mouth stretching into a yawn.

"You're covered in thorns!" Hollykit guessed he'd been out of the den. "What have you been up to?" she demanded.

"I couldn't sleep," Lionkit confessed. "I went for a walk in the clearing."

Hollykit stared at him in dismay. "Aren't we in enough trouble? Do you want to stop us from being made apprentices?"

"It's okay," Lionkit soothed. "No one saw me." He sat up and wiped a paw over his face. "Except Mousepaw, and he won't tell. It was Mousepaw who pushed me into the thorns so Dustpelt wouldn't spot me."

Hollykit hissed softly. _Why doesn't he think before he acts?_ "We'd better get those thorns out of you before anyone else sees them."

"They really sting," Lionkit complained, twisting around to tug one from his flank with his teeth.

"I'd better go to the medicine den and get something to treat them with," Hollykit told him. "We don't want your scratches getting infected."

"What will you tell Leafpool?"

"Don't worry. I'll tell her there was a thorn in your bedding and you rolled on it." She climbed out of her nest and headed toward the entrance. "You start pulling out all the thorns you can reach," she instructed. "I'll get the rest when I come back. Jaykit, help him get the thorns out." Before she began to nose her way out of the den, another thought struck her. "And don't leave them lying around. If Icekit or Foxkit spike themselves on one, Ferncloud will pluck your whiskers till you're bald as a bird!"

She ran across the clearing, relieved to find it empty. The sun was rising behind the trees that topped the cliffs, but the camp, still in shadow, was cold. Hollykit guessed that the dawn patrol must have left already and the other cats were making the most of their snug dens until the sun had reached into the hollow and warmed the camp.

She reached the medicine den unnoticed and pushed through the brambles that concealed its entrance. Leafpool was nowhere to be seen, and her scent was stale. She turned around to the entrance. Hollykit poked her nose out the den. A shadow casted over her, startling the kit. It was Leafpool, holding a bunch of nettles carefully by their stems. The dew still glistened on their jagged leaves. She dropped them and looked at Hollykit. "You're up early. Do you need something?"

"Lionkit's been scratched by a thorn in his bedding."

Leafpool opened her eyes wide in surprise. "A thorn? I'll have to tell Brambleclaw about it. Wait here, I'll get some dock."

Hollykit waited, then realized what she had forgotten. If Leafpool saw how many thorns were tangled in Lionkit's pelt, the kits would be in trouble. She'll have to put Leafpool off somehow. Just as Leafpool poked her head out, Hollykit jumped in front of her aunt. The brown tabby attempted to circle around the kit, but Hollykit kept jumping in her way.

Leafpool dropped the tangy-scented leaves. "Yes?"

"Can-can you teach me how to apply it?"

"I can, but Lionkit still needs the dock, right?" Leafpool directed her ears at her.

Hollykit remained silent, trying to think of a reply. "He-he does, but I want to do it by myself..."

"Are you interested to be a medicine cat, Hollykit?"

Hollykit pricked her ears. "A medicine cat? I can?"

"Let me show you how to apply it," Leafpool offered. She crouched over the pile of dock, taking a single leaf in her mouth and chewing it. Once it was well chewed she held out her paw and licked the juice from the dock into her fur. Then she spat out the remainder of the leaf.

"Make sure you lick it in firmly so that it seeps right into the wound," she advised. "It may sting, but it will save a lot more pain later if you do it properly."

Hollykit watched carefully.

"Do you want to try it before you go?" Leafpool asked.

"I think I should get back to Lionkit," Hollykit mewed, wanting to return to the nursery before Daisy and Ferncloud realized she was missing. "He was pretty sore."

"I could come too," Leafpool offered.

"Thanks, but you must have things to do," Hollykit mewed, remembering why she had blocked Leafpool earlier. "I'll come and get you if I need help."

"Very well." Leafpool nodded. Was that a knowing glint Hollykit saw in her amber gaze? Had she guessed that Hollykit was not telling her the whole truth about Lionkit's injuries?

Not eager to find out, Hollykit picked up the dock leaves in her jaws and trotted out of the medicine den. Her heart sank when she saw that the camp was growing busy. Daisy had come out of the nursery and was warming herself in a spot where the sun's weak rays were just beginning to reach. Her kits huddled together outside the apprentices' den, blinking sleep from their eyes.

They looked like a single soft cloud, Berrypaw's creamy fur merging with the gray and white of Hazelpaw and Mousepaw. Cinderpaw, Honeypaw, and Poppypaw were sharing tongues by the halfrock. Their slender dappled bodies reminded Hollykit of their mother, Sorreltail, who was nosing through the remains of yesterday's fresh-kill pile with Thornclaw and Spiderleg.

There's no reason they should think I don't have permission to be here, Hollykit told herself. She stalked across the clearing, nodding to the apprentices as casually as she could manage. She avoided looking at Thornclaw and Spiderleg. Her paws burned with every step, but she kept her tail high and tried not to look hurried as she approached the nursery.

She reached the entrance unchallenged and scrabbled through with the dock leaves clamped tightly between her jaws.

Ferncloud's voice startled her. "Where have you been?"

Hollykit dropped the dock leaves and glanced at Lionkit. She was relieved to see that he and Jaykit had gotten the thorns out of his pelt and smoothed down his fur enough to look as though he'd spent the whole night in his nest.

"I told Ferncloud about the thorn in my bedding," Lionkit put in hastily.

"I've brought some dock leaves for Lionkit's scratch," Hollykit explained to Ferncloud. "Sorry I didn't ask first, but I didn't want to wake you."

"You should have waited until I was awake and asked permission. But I suppose you were only thinking of your littermate, and I can't disapprove of that." Ferncloud sighed. "Though Starclan knows how thorns got into the nursery in the first place!" She glanced at her two kits wriggling at her belly. "You must be careful not to carry anything in on your pelts when there are small kits in the nursery."

"We'll be extra careful in the future," Hollykit promised. She hurried over to Lionkit with the leaves. "Did you and Jaykitget all the thorns out?" she whispered.

Lionkit nodded. "Yeah, I put them under the brambles at the edge of the den." He flicked his tail to the den wall near his nest.

"We can reach under from outside and drag them out later," she mewed. "Now, where are the worst scratches?" She began to chew up a dock leaf while Lionkit twisted and pointed with his nose to a sore spot on his flank.

The dock leaf tasted foul. "Yuck!" Hollykit screwed up her nose as she chewed. She leaned down and licked the juice into Lionkit's scratch, just as Leafpool had shown her. As she dragged her tongue firmly across the wound, Lionkit flinched and let out a squeak of pain. Hollykit leaped back in alarm.

"Are you two fighting?" Ferncloud asked, not looking up from her kits.

"No," Lionkit meowed. "The dock juice hurts; that's all."

Hollykit felt her tail tremble. She couldn't do this! Seeing Lionkit's pain made her feel queasy. But she couldn't let any of his scratches get infected...a gray paw podded at her side.

"Let me do it," Jaykit mewed. Hollykit nodded and back away. He chewed the horrible-tasting leaf and set to work licking the juice into another scratch. Lionkit winced but Jaykit didn't seem to be bothered by it, as he chewed another dock leaf.

"That feels much better," Lionkit breathed as Jaykit tended to his last wound. Hollykit sat back with relief. Just looking at the wound already made her nauseous, there was just no way she could be a medicine cat.


	7. Apprentice

Apprentice

Hollykit awoke before dawn. The nursery was dark and cozy, warmed by her sleeping denmates. She lay in her nest and listened to an owl calling from the trees lakeside of the camp. She was too excited to go back to sleep. Brambleclaw had told her last night that Firestar would be going ahead with the naming ceremony after all.

"You've behaved well and not left the nursery without permission," he meowed as she took prey from the fresh-kill pile.

Hollykit glanced over to her brothers, who were already eating by the half-buried rock. "What about Jaykit?"

"Don't worry," Brambleclaw had reassured her. "Firestar hasn't forgotten about Jaykit."

Hollykit rolled over in her nest and stretched. The black kit blinked open her eyes. Dawn was creeping through the knotted bramble walls. Lionkit and Jaykit were still asleep beside her. Squirrelflight's nest smelled stale and cold. She must have returned late from patrol again and chosen to sleep in the warriors' den. Hollykit sat up and stretched.

"Awake already?" Ferncloud meowed. The queen was feeding her kits, her pale gray pelt glowing softly in the halflight.

"I'm too excited to sleep!" Hollykit mewed. It's the day she's made apprentice with her brothers.

"You may go outside if you like," Ferncloud allowed. "The dawn patrol will be back before long. They might bring warm prey."

Icekit wriggled around and stared at Hollykit with round blue eyes. "You won't be sleeping in the nursery tonight," she mewed.

Hollykit blinked at her. "No. I'll be in apprentices' den."

Foxkit pushed away from his mother. "Lucky! I want to be there"

Hollykit twitched her ears. ""You will be soon."

"Not soon enough!" Foxkit mewed. He reached out and caught Icekit's twitching tail between his auburn paws. "I can't wait to be a warrior."

Icekit flicked her tail away from him. "Will you come back and tell us what it's like being an apprentice?"

"Of course," Hollykit purred. She dipped her head to their mother. "Bye, Ferncloud."

Foxkit and Icekit scrambled out of Ferncloud's nest. "Bye, Hollykit," Icekit mewed, reaching up to push her white muzzle against Hollykit's cheek.

"Bye, Icekit." Hollykit bent down and licked Foxkit between the ears. "Don't get into trouble." With a twinge of sadness she turned and squeezed out of the nursery.

The clearing sparkled with dew. Mist clouded in the bushes and clefts that ringed the base of the enclosing rock wall. Hollykit stretched, first her forepaws, then her hind, arching her back and enjoying the fresh scents of the forest.

"Good morning!" Squirrelflight called. She was sitting in front of the warriors' den, a paw raised, ready to wash behind her ears. Brambleclaw sat next to her.

"Hi!" Hollykit mewed, trotting over to greet them.

Brambleclaw purred loudly. "It's your big day!" He touched Hollykit's head with his muzzle.

"It sure is," Hollykit agreed, trying not to think how close she had come to ruining her chance of being made an apprentice.

The thorn barrier trembled; the dawn patrol was returning. Cloudtail emerged from the entrance with his apprentice, Cinderpaw, and Stormfur trotting behind. They each carried prey in their jaws.

Brambleclaw padded away to meet them as they dropped their catch, his dark tabby pelt glistening where it had brushed dew from the branches overhanging the warriors' den. "All clear?"

"No cat has crossed the boundaries," Cloudtail reported. "Although Windclan and Shadowclan are keeping their markers fresh."

Hollykit noticed Squirrelflight's ears prick warily.

"Do you think that's a problem?" Brambleclaw asked.

Cloudtail looked thoughtful. "No, but it feels as if they're both making an effort to remind us that they're there."

"You think they're showing signs of aggression?"

"Not aggression," Cloudtail corrected. "But they never used to be so thorough about marking their boundaries."

"Should we be stepping up patrols?" Ashfur slid out of the warriors' den, making Hollykit jump. He padded toward Cloudtail and Brambleclaw, and Squirrelflight followed him, leaving Hollykit alone.

"We'll ignore it for now," Brambleclaw decided.

"Isn't that a decision for Firestar to make?" Ashfur meowed.

Brambleclaw looked sharply at the gray warrior, but Ashfur's eyes showed no disrespect, only concern.

Brambleclaw nodded. "I'll speak to him about it, of course," he meowed. "But there's no point overreacting if Shadowclan and Windclan are just trying to provoke us."

Squirrelflight looked at Cloudtail. "Did you refresh our boundary markers?" Cloudtail nodded.

Hollykit felt another pelt brush her side. Lionkit had joined her, and Jaykit was scrambling out of the nursery after him. "What's going on?" Lionkit mewed.

"The dawn patrol's reporting back," Hollykit told him. The idea that Shadowclan and Windclan were pressing on their borders worried her.

She glanced around the clearing. Whitewing, Spiderleg, and Thornclaw shared a pigeon beside the halfrock. Honeypaw and Poppypaw were play fighting on the grass patch outside their den. As she watched, the apprentices stopped and looked up at Highledge. Hollykit followed their gaze, her paws pricking with anticipation.

Firestar was leaping down the tumble of rocks that led from his den. Sandstorm nimbly picked her way after him. Hollykit's heart felt as if it flipped right over when Firestar called to the clan: "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Highledge. It is time to fulfill a promise I made to three of our kits."

Hollykit glanced at her brothers. This was it! The moment when they would begin serving their clan!

Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight hurried toward them. Squirrelflight quickly smoothed the fur between Lionkit's ears.

"Are you ready?" Brambleclaw's eyes were shining. "Totally!" Hollykit mewed. "Good." Brambleclaw padded away and sat beside Birchfall.

 _'Does that mean Birchfall's going to be a mentor?'_ Hollykit wondered.

Squirrelflight licked Jaykit's cheek. "Good luck, all of you." She went to join Brambleclaw. A gray tom with dark flecks padded to them. "You're going to be apprentices today."

"Yeah," Hollykit mewed happily, looking up to Ashfur. She then looked around the camp.

Mousefur emerged stiffly from the elders' den. Honeypaw, Poppypaw, and Berrypaw clustered together, whispering. Whitewing, Spiderleg, and Thornclaw padded over from the halfrock, leaving the remains of their meal behind. Nightshimmer, Silveryflight and Redstrike padded from the warriors' den. Within moments, the whole Clan stood gazing at Firestar. For the first time that morning, Hollykit's excitement felt closer to anxiety. The expectations of Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight, of Firestar, of the whole Clan, pressed down on her shoulders like a badger's paws.

She felt a soft muzzle nudging her from behind. She turned to see Ashfur ushering her toward the circle. She searched Ashfur's eyes, but they gave no clue about what would happen next, only encouraged her forward with a gentle blink. Lionkit and Jaykit were gently nudged by Leafpool.

Hollykit pushed her way between Ferncloud and Daisy and halted. Lionkit and Jaykit squirmed into place beside her, and she felt herself trembling against Daisy's flank. The cream-colored queen glanced fondly at her and ran a smoothing tail over her black pelt.

"I gather you all for one of my favorite duties," Firestar announced. "Hollykit, Lionkit, and Jaykit have reached their sixth moon."

So Jaykit was going to be included in the apprenticenaming ceremony after all.

"They have had an adventurous kithood," Firestar went on with a hint of amusement in his voice, "but I hope they have learned valuable lessons, and I believe they are ready to become apprentices."

The clan meowed in approval. Firestar waited for the noise to die away before going on. "Lionkit!"

The golden brown tabby kit bounced forward, quivering with excitement.

"From this day until you receive your warrior name, you will be Lionpaw."

Berrypaw called his name and the other apprentices joined in. Firestar looked at the cloud-darkened sky. "I ask Starclan to watch over you and guide you until you find in your paws the strength and courage of a warrior."

Lionpaw's eyes sparkled as he gazed up at his leader.

"Ashfur," Firestar called.

The pale gray tom lifted his head. His eyes brightened, and excitement showed in the tiny twitch of his tail as he stepped forward.

"You mentored Birchfall, and he is a credit to his clan," Firestar meowed. "Now Thunderclan asks you to prove yourself once more a great mentor."

"I won't let Thunderclan down," Ashfur promised.

Hollykit suddenly forgot to be nervous, and she raced to the center of the clearing, skidding to a halt beside Firestar.

His whiskers twitched. "From this day until you receive your warrior name, you will be Hollypaw."

Hollypaw stared at the apprentices as they called her new name. Berrypaw and Hazelpaw seemed so big and strong. In the nursery she had been older than Icekit and Foxkit. Now she would be one of the youngest of her denmates. Her heart drummed like paws racing over the forest floor.

"Brackenfur," Firestar called.

The golden brown tabby padded forward, eyes bright.

"You have shown yourself loyalty and determination. You will be the mentor of Hollypaw."

"Thank you, Firestar." Brackenfur lowered his muzzle and Hollypaw reached out to touch noses with him. He touched her flank and lead her to the side of the clearing next to Ashfur and Lionpaw.

Jaykit marched into the clearing and stood in front of Firestar. "What about me? I want to be an apprentice like Lionpaw and Hollypaw."

"Of course you do," Firestar agreed. "And your mentor will be Nightshimmer. "

Jaykit spun around, the black she-cat already behind him. "I'll make you work harder than any other apprentice," she promised. Jaykit scowled at her while Nightshimmer merely appeared amused.

"From this day until you receive your warrior name, you will be Jaypaw."

"Jaypaw! Jaypaw! Jaypaw!" Mousepaw's and Berrypaw's call rang around the hollow, and the other apprentices joined in loudly. Hollykit was sure she and Lionkit were yowling the loudest.

"Nightshimmer," Firestar meowed, "You had once helped Longtail with his blindness and I am certain you will help Jaypaw with his."

"Absolutely," she mewed as if it was utterly expected of her.

 _'Of course it is! She has to help Jaypaw become a warrior.'_ Hollypaw thought.

Nightshimmer then mewed in a low voice to Jaypaw and he attempted to touch her nose, seeking it. Nightshimmer made sure to have her muzzle low and close enough for him to touch it. Jaypaw's whiskers blushed passed her muzzle once before touching her nose. The whole clan raised their voices to cheer the new apprentices.


	8. Territory

Territory

"When can we start training?" Hollypaw asked.

"That's up to your mentors," Firestar told her.

"Come on, Lionpaw," Ashfur meowed. "Let's find you a nest in the apprentices' den; then I'll show you the forest."

"Right now?" Lionpaw mewed excitedly. "And Hollypaw and Jaypaw?"

"Why not? They'll need their mentor's permissions though."

"Sure, Jaypaw can go with you," Nightshimmer mewed, before Jaypaw can even ask. The gray tabby brighten up and followed his brother's scent. Hollypaw turned to her mentor. Brackenfur nodded. Hollypaw raced after her brothers in the apprentices' den. "Wait for me!"

"So, I guess we'll all take them out then. Brackenfur?"

* * *

Hollypaw looked around the den, taking in the scents. Berrypaw's scent was the nest next to them, in between Honeypaw's and Hazelpaw's. Her black ears flicked behind her as Cinderpaw's drifted to her.

"Hey there, Lionpaw, Hollypaw, Jaypaw, looking for your own nests?" the dappled gray she-cat mewed.

"Yes, our mentors said we could find our nests before taking us out to see the forest," Lionpaw mewed excitedly, his tail twitching.

Cinderpaw nodded and flicked her tail to three nests near each other. "Your nests are over there. The other apprentices and I took the chance to build your nests yesterday when we heard you three are going to be apprentices today. You can choose among yourselves."

"Thanks Cinderpaw. Can you tell the others we said thank you to them?" Hollypaw mewed. Cinderpaw purred and nodded, padding out of the den. "Thank you!" Jaypaw and Lionpaw mewed after her.

"So, which one do you want?" Hollypaw asked her brothers.

Lionpaw padded to the one on her left, rubbing his scent on it. Jaypaw padded forward and touched the one on her right.

"I guess I'll take the one in the middle, then." Hollypaw put her paw on the nest, leaving her scent there. "Let's go. The sun won't wait for us!"

The three kits padded out to the clearing. Ashfur and Brackenfur were talking to each other.

Nightshimmer was washing her ear. She paused midway and turned to them. "Found your nests?"

"Yes, and we're ready to explore the territory," Jaypaw mewed.

"Let's go then," Ashfur mewed, padding to the tunnel. Brackenfur, Lionpaw and Hollypaw followed him, with Nightshimmer and Jaypaw behind. They head to where the wind was coming from. Soon the land was bare of trees and bushes, the grass bending to the wind.

"This is a piece of the moors we got from Windclan. Rabbits can be caught here, but they're fast. Up ahead is the stream. We can get there for water. Be careful not to step past the stream. Windclan territory is beyond that. Remember their scent," Brackenfur mewed as they reached the steam flowing between Thunderclan and Windclan. Hollypaw sniffed the air, taking in the Windclan scent.

"If you follow the stream, you can reach the Moonpool," Ashfur meowed, his tail pointing upstream. Hollypaw nodded and looked behind her. Nightshimmer had her tail next to Jaypaw's whiskers.

The cats turned away from the stream and returned to the forest. Fresh scent of the Thunderclan patrol lay ahead. Hollypaw's whiskers twitched at the scents of Swiftfoot, Dewyfern, Redstrike and Thornclaw.

"Taking your apprentices out already?" asked Swiftfoot, worried amber eyes landing on Jaypaw.

"The sooner the better," Nightshimmer curtly replied.

The amber eyes blinked. "Well, I'm sure you have much to show them. We still need to hurry up with our patrol. See you later then, Jaypaw, Hollypaw, Lionpaw," Swiftfoot mewed, leading his patrol away.

The cats continued on, padding beneath the trees and aside the bushes. The sunlight appeared though the parted branches before them. Ahead, was a crumbling long path with blue Twoleg markers marking it.

"This is a Thunderpath, though we call it the old Thunderpath. Monsters used to run down here," Ashfur mewed

"Monsters?" Jaypaw asked, nose twitching at tangy scent.

"They're huge creatures with hard shiny pelts carrying Twolegs inside their bellies and at night, yellow beams shoot from their eyes. Usually they don't leave the Thunderpath, so we stay away from the path. But when we do need to cross it, we have to watch out for them before crossing," Nightshimmer answered.

"Can't we just outrun them?" Lionpaw asked.

"Impossible, monster are even faster then the fastest warriors in Windclan. That's why we have to watch for them when we are near a Thunderpath. The air shudders before they appear," Brackenfur meowed.

"And what's that?" Hollypaw mewed, pointing to what appears to be a hard, flat, four-sided walls connected to the Thunderpath.

"That's an Abandoned Twoleg nest. Twolegs used to live here, but they left long ago. This is where we collect herbs. There plentiful of prey here too," the golden tabby mewed, crossing the Thunderpath with Nightshimmer and Ashfur. Hollypaw stared hesitantly at the path and ran across. Lionpaw and Jaypaw raced after her.

Their mentor showed them where the herbs grow and lead them away to another place. Jaypaw wiggled his nose. "What is that scent?"

"That, Jaypaw, is Shadowclan you're smelling," Nightshimmer mewed.

Hollypaw opened her mouth. There was a hint of pine in the air. "How do you catch that? Jaypaw has a good nose, but I can barely catch that scent."

Nightshimmer didn't reply to her question, though she did swivel her ears to her. Hollypaw had heard that there were questions that the black she-cat won't answer, but she'll give you a knowing look or something like that. It looks like this is one of those questions Nightshimmer will not say a word about.

Twoleg nests clustered together loomed in a distance. The scent of Shadowclan was strong.

"Is that Shadowclan territory?" Lionpaw asked.

"Yes, that's Shadowclan's territory. What you see before you is the Greenleaf Twolegplace. Twolegs come here at Greenleaf. Prey become scarce around here when they come, so it's a good idea to stay away from this part of the border in Greenleaf if you're hunting. Let's go. It won't be good if Shadowclan catches us near the border," Ashfur mewed.

They padded away from the border, following a small stream. They came into a mossy clearing. "It feels...like moss?" Jaypaw mewed.

"It is moss. This is the Clearing, where we train apprentices in stalking techniques and fighting-hunting skills," Brackenfur mewed. The tabby look up to the sky, seeing how far along the sun is. "There's one last place we haven't gone to yet."

* * *

"Wow! The lake is _huge_!" Hollypaw mewed at the sight. The cats had reach the lake. The black kit turned to see..."What is that, hanging out over the lake?"

"A halfbridge. Twolegs sometimes go out in the middle of the lake on a water-monster," Brackenfur mewed. "There's still one more place, Hollypaw."

Hollypaw nodded and bounded after them, padding alongside the lake. Ahead, was the biggest tree she had ever seen. "Wow!"

"This is the Sky Oak," her mentor mewed. Hollypaw, Jaypaw, and Lionpaw padded near the tree. "Be careful though, there's an old rabbit burrow at its roots."

Jaypaw placed a paw on one of the roots. "How long has this been here?"

"A very long time. That's for sure," Nightshimmer mewed. They turned to the setting sun. "Well, time to go back home."

* * *

Hollypaw and her brother s padded into the apprentices' den. The older apprentices were already in their nests, tired from their training. Hollypaw settled down on her nest, with Lionpaw on her right and Jaypaw on her left. She yawned, closing her holly-green eyes.

* * *

 **I won't happen to make Cinderpaw _too_ mature, did I? Because this Cinderpaw isn't a reincarnation of Cinderpelt, so she's suppose to talk like a normal apprentice would.**


	9. Training and Gathering

Training and Gathering

Hollypaw followed her mentor to the Clearing the next sunrise. At the mossy hollow, was Jaypaw and his mentor already up, though they were not doing any hunting and fighting techniques. The black warrior was stepping around Jaypaw, who would turn around to locate her.

"What's Nightshimmer doing?"

Brackenfur turned to the the gray kit and black she-cat. "She's training him to react to positions, I think."

"Positions? How?"

"I don't know, but Longtail said it's by what you can feel in the ground, your whiskers feeling the air, your hearing and scent." Brackenfur padded to the other side of the clearing, away from Jaypaw and Nightshimmer. "We won't bother them for the time being. I'll show the hunting technique. Here."

The golden tabby crouched low on the moss, his tail low enough to blush against the grass of the forest. Hollypaw quickly copied him.

* * *

A quarter-moon after, she was waiting for her first gathering. Hollypaw watched Firestar talking quietly to Sandstorm and Brambleclaw. She glared the ground.

"Why are we hanging about?" Hollypaw fussed, tearing the grass with her thorn-sharp claws.

"It can't be much longer," Lionpaw mewed. The way his tail twitched showed that he was just as excited as she is. Jaypaw lay on the ground, his ears moving every so often.

"It looks like Firestar's waiting for Leafpool," Hazelpaw put in.

"Why's it taking her so long?" Hollypaw complained. "She's only sorting through the new herbs she gathered before sunhigh."

"She might sort them quicker if Nightshimmer were helping," Berrypaw pointed out. "It's not like she coming to the Gathering with us."

"She said she had to be somewhere," Jaypaw stated.

"We know she _always_ go somewhere every moonhigh every time she doesn't have to go to the gathering. If I were the leader, I won't have her put down her medicine cat duties," Mousepaw mewed.

The three younger apprentices turned to him. "Medicine cat?" Jaypaw asked.

"Yes. Nightshimmer was the medicine cat before Leafpool. Thunderclan lost their only medicine cat, Yellowfang. Firestar and the medicine cats accepted that she will be a medicine cat until a cat wishes to train under her. The cat was Leafpool but..." the gray cat paused.

"But?" Hollypaw mewed.

"Nightshimmer didn't stop being a medicine cat when Leafpool became full medicine cat. It was as if she was waiting for something-" Mousepaw stopped and turned at Firestar's cry. "It's time to go!" he mewed excitedly. Mousepaw raced ahead, with the other apprentices followed soon after him.

Firestar padded to the head of the party and, with a sharp nod, bounded away through the tunnel. Hollypaw bound after her Clanmates, her heart soaring as their paws drummed the forest floor. She felt Jaypaw's pelt brushing hers, rippling with excitement. A moment later they burst out of the tunnel and charged up the slope.

They raced past Sky Oak and down to the lake. The pebbles on the shore clattered beneath their paws. The stones grazed Hollypaw's pads but she didn't care; she could already see the island on the far side, rising from the water, crowded with trees. Their slender leafless branches reached up to the star-pricked sky, trembling like whiskers, and Hollypaw flicked her tail excitedly.

As the cats began the long trek through Windclan territory, Firestar steadied the pace. They passed the horseplace, where Daisy used to live, and crossed into Riverclan territory, always keeping within five tail-lengths of the waterline, as agreed by all the clans. The ground became muddier as they neared the island. Hollypaw slowed so she wouldn't slip and fall in the mud. She could make out dark shapes streaming over the fallen tree that bridged the gap between shore and island. The scent of Windclan mingled with the scents of Shadowclan and Riverclan; the other clans were arriving.

"Will you mention the border markers?" Hollypaw heard her father meow. She peered past Mousepaw and Spiderleg and saw Brambleclaw keeping pace with Firestar.

"Do you mean the fact that ShadowClan and WindClan have marked every tree and blade of grass on our borders?" Firestar asked.

"Yes," Brambleclaw replied.

"I can't dictate what the other Clans do in their territory," Firestar reminded him.

"But it's an open show of hostility!" Brambleclaw growled.

"We're not going to react," Firestar told him. "Yet."

"Firestar's right."

 _Ashfur!_

The pale gray tom hurried to catch up with them. "It would be better to send out more frequent border patrols than give the other clans the satisfaction of knowing they've got us worried."

"It takes more than the stench of Shadowclan to worry us!" Firestar declared. He broke into a run, bounding the last few tail-lengths to the fallen tree, and skidded to a halt by the withered roots.

Hollypaw stared up at the trunk that bridged the water between the shore and the island. The air was filled with the scents of Windclan, Shadowclan, and Riverclan.

"We must be the last to arrive!" Lionpaw whispered, his fur fluffed. "Do you suppose Ferncloud's nursery stories about Shadowclan are true?"

"You don't actually believe they let their elders starve, do you?" Hollypaw mewed scornfully.

"Well, no," Lionpaw murmured. "But what if all the other apprentices are bigger than us?"

"We've been apprentices for only a quarter moon," Jaypaw pointed out. "There're bound to be some apprentices bigger than us."

Firestar leaped up onto the fallen trunk, picked his way carefully across to the far shore, and jumped down. The pebbles swished beneath his paws as he turned to watch his Clanmates cross. Brambleclaw followed him, then Dustpelt, and before she knew it, Jaypaw was next. She nudged her brother, whispering. "It's your turn to cross the trunk."

Jaypaw nodded and leap. He paused, steadying himself and placed his steps carefully on the trunk. Hollypaw leap right after him. The bark was surprisingly slippery and her paws slithered in all directions. Hollypaw righted herself with her claws and followed after her brother, weaving though the stubby twigs and knots. Jaypaw suddenly stop. Ahead, was a jutting shard of bark where a smaller branch had once sprouted.

Jaypaw placed his paws on the smooth bark, trying a way around it. The gray kit got through and Hollypaw continued after him. Jaypaw seem to know where the end of the trunk is, as he hopped down to the island. Hollypaw jumped shortly after and turned to see Lionpaw leaping on the fallen tree. Ashfur was behind him, watching her brother's every step. Lionpaw curved his body around the shard of bark, keeping his eyes fixed firmly on the far end of the tree.

Lionpaw let out a shocked mew as his forepaw slipped. Hollypaw gasp, still as he was about to fall off the trunk. A gray pelt flashed behind him and Ashfur nudged him back to his paws, steadying him. Lionpaw and Ashfur exchanged mews and continued on the trunk, except Lionpaw had his claws out and moved like a squirrel.

"Thought you were fish food for a moment there," Hollypaw welcomed him as he leap down.

"Me too!" Lionpaw purred.

"Huh?" Jaypaw asked.

"Oh, Lionpaw almost slipped from the fallen tree, but Ashfur saved him," Hollypaw explained.

Lionpaw flatten his ears. "You didn't have to say it that way..."

"You were lucky Ashfur was there," Jaypaw mewed.

"Not you too Jaypaw...How did you cross so easily?"

"Nightshimmer's training helped."

They turned back to the bare tree. Hazelpaw weaved her way among the jutting twigs; Berrypaw pushed his way through with his powerful shoulders, while Spiderleg slipped around them like a snake, clearly accustomed to the crossing.

Finally, all the Thunderclan cats stood on the beach. Firestar swept his gaze over them, then, with a single nod, turned and padded into the trees. Hollypaw raced between the shadowy trunks, her fur blushing against Liopaw's pelt. Her ears twitched with anticipation as the trees thinned and a clearing opened ahead.

There were cats everywhere. Hollypaw had never seen so many different shades of pelts. Some were lithe, some broad-shouldered. There were more cats here than Hollypaw had imagined could live around the lake, and these were just a few from each clan! At the far edge of the clearing, with the lake behind it sparkling distantly through the leaf-bare forest, he saw the Great Oak, the center of every Gathering.

Hollypaw turned to see Lionpaw with his jaws hanging. "Is it what you expected?" Hollypaw whispered.

"I didn't realize there would be so many cats." Hollypaw turned to see what her brother was seeing. Lionpaw stared at a Riverclan tom, his pelt so sleek that it shone in the moonlight as he flexed his well-muscled shoulders. "Imagine meeting him in battle! I'm going to train twice as hard from now on."

"How can you be thinking about fighting?" Hollypaw scolded. "There's a truce tonight. You should be trying to work out whether he thinks like a Thunderclan warrior." Her eyes narrowed. "If you know how your enemy thinks, then you have already won half the battle."

Lionpaw glanced sideways at her, amber eyes questioning where she had come up with that stuff.

Mousepaw's eyes twinkled. "Why not go and ask him?"

Hollypaw gasped. "Can we really just go up and talk to any cat?"

"Well," Mousepaw cautioned, "you'd be better off talking to the apprentices." He dipped his head toward a group of smaller Riverclan cats. "The warriors from the other clans aren't dangerous or anything, but they won't be pleased to have some young apprentice pestering them."

"What if _they_ talk to _us_?" Jaypaw asked.

"Just be polite and don't give too much information away," Hazelpaw warned. "Some of the warriors might use your inexperience to find out what's happening in Thunderclan."

"Did you spill any secrets at your first Gathering, Mousepaw?" Hollypaw asked.

"Of course not!" Mousepaw sniffed.

"Yeah, right!" Berrypaw interjected sarcastically. "If I hadn't clamped my tail over your mouth you would have told Russetfur that Firestar was about to give up the land by the river before Firestar had a chance to announce it himself."

"But she's the Shadowclan deputy!" Mousepaw argued. "I couldn't just ignore her."

"You didn't have to tell her your clan's whole history either," Berrypaw mewed, his whiskers twitching.

"Well," Hollypaw mewed suddenly, "I'm going to see what everyone else is talking about. Jaypaw, wanna come with me?"

Her blind brother shook his head. "I...I think I'd be better off here."

She nodded and began to head toward the group of wide-eyed Riverclan apprentices when a small, pale tabby came hurtling toward her across the clearing.

"Hollypaw!" It was the Riverclan medicine cat apprentice, her bright green eyes flashing in the moonlight.

"Hi, Willowpaw!" Hollypaw stopped to greet her.

Willowpaw skidded to a halt and stared at her in delight. "I heard from Mothwing you're an apprentice now. Congrats." The medicine cat apprentice turned her head, looking for someone.

"Who are you looking for?"

"Nightshimmer, I want to talk to her more about...something."

"Something?" Hollypaw echoed, curious.

"Well, I'm hoping to find _that_ out from Nightshimmer."

"Why? Nightshimmer isn't at the Gathering, today."

"Because she's amazing! She's not here? Oh well. What's being a warrior apprentice like, Hollypaw?"

"Ah..." The two she-cat lost themselves in the conversation until a tom with long legs padded to them. Spiderleg nudged Hollypaw, who turned to him.

"It's almost time for the meeting to start." Hollypaw nodded and wave her tail in goodbye. Willowpaw returned the greeting and turned back to Riverclan. Hollypaw followed the warrior to join her clanmates, taking a spot next to the warrior. A commanding meow sounded from the Great Oak. "We meet beneath Silverpelt—"

Ashfur settled next to her. "How was the Gathering?" he asked.

"It's great!" she mewed, enjoying her time on the Island.

"Shh!" Spiderleg hushed.

Hollypaw turned back to Onestar. The lithe brown tabby who led WindClan, was speaking. ". . . commanded by the truce of the full moon."

Hollypaw felt Lionpaw and Jaypaw joined, brushing against their pelts. Firestar sat beside Onestar on the branch. A sleek, spotted tabby she-cat sat next to him. Hollypaw guessed that was Leopardstar of RiverClan. Beyond her was a huge white tom with jet-black paws-ShadowClan's leader, Blackstar.

"Leaf-bare has been kind to us this last moon," Onestar announced. "The rabbits are running, but not too fast to catch, and the windy weather has made hunting hard for the buzzards and hawks, which leaves more prey for us. Other than that, Windclan has nothing important to report."

Onestar turned to Blackstar, nodding for him to speak next.

"Shadowclan has one new apprentice," Blackstar began. He looked down at a wiry brown she-cat sitting among the Shadowclan warriors. "Ivypaw."

Hollypaw fidget. "Our turn next!" she breathed.

But Blackstar had not finished. "Hunting has been good for Shadowclan since we enlarged our territory."

A gasp came from the Thunderclan warriors around her. Hollypaw stared at the Shadowclan leader. Was Blackstar really going to make out that they had seized the land by the river from Thunderclan?

"Our new stretch of territory is a great source of prey," Blackstar meowed.

"Liar!" Spiderleg muttered under his breath, "Firestar would never have given it up if it were!"

"Shadowclan would like to thank Firestar for his generosity in granting it to us," Blackstar finished with poisonous gratitude.

Firestar stared levelly at him. "I am pleased to hear that you are getting so much out of a piece of land prey-poor by Thunderclan standards," he meowed.

"Yes!" Hollypaw hissed. A subdued ripple of approval passed through the Thunderclan cats.

Then Firestar turned his green gaze on the crowd. "Thunderclan are fortunate to have more than one"—he lingered over the word—"new apprentice this moon. Hollypaw, Jaypaw and Lionpaw."

Hollypaw sat highly, aware that the eyes from the clans are on her and her brothers, though under her fur, she wanted to hide. In a moment that was at once too short and too long, it was over, and Firestar was carrying on with his report.

"We have been lucky this leaf-bare," he meowed. "There has been frost but little snow, and the prey has continued to run."

Hollypaw flinched. There was a new scent in the air, something she hadn't smelled before. Some of the other cats clearly scented it too-she could see their heads turning, searching the edge of the clearing.

There was a rustle in the bracken close to where the WindClan cats were gathered and in the shadows Hollypaw saw movement.

Firestar fell silent and watched with the other cats as two lithe shapes emerged from the undergrowth.

"Intruders!" The alert spread through the Clans like wildfire. All around her, Hollypaw felt pelts bristling in alarm and battle-hungry muscles tensing, ready to spring.

The WindClan warriors who were nearest lunged at the strangers. Yowling and hissing, they wrestled the trespassers to the ground.

"Stop!" Firestar yowled, making Hollypaw stiffen. _Stop? Why stop? They are intruders..._

The WindClan cats froze and drew back, leaving the two strangers standing alone on the edge of the Clans. Hollypaw was about to strain to see over the heads of the other cats when—in a voice that was taut with shock and disbelief, Firestar called a name Hollypaw had only ever heard mentioned in nursery stories.

"Graystripe!"

Time seem to pause as Hollypaw stared in amazement. _Graystripe?_ "But he's dead!" she hissed to Lionpaw.

Her brother did not reply. He was too busy trying to balance on his hind legs to get a better view.

Hollypaw ducked down and weaved among the legs of the clan cats until she reached the edge and peeped out between the pelts of Crowfeather and Heatherpaw.

A gray tom with a stripe of darker fur along his spine stood in front of the bracken. His pelt clung to bone and wasted muscle, the fur matted and dull. His left ear was torn, and there were whiskers missing from his scratched and filthy muzzle. Beside him shivered a light gray tabby she-cat. Her short fur stuck out in clumps, and her tail hung limp and bedraggled.

 _But Graystripe's dead!_

"You're alive!" Firestar burst out from between Onestar and Tornear. He faced Graystripe round-eyed, his fur on end.

Graystripe stared back. His companion flattened her ears and lifted her front paw defensively. She was trembling, her eyes bright with fear as she tried to look at all the cats at once.

"Easy now, Millie," Graystripe cautioned.

Firestar stretched his muzzle forward, sniffing tentatively, as though he could hardly believe what he saw. "The Twolegs didn't kill you. . . ." He lifted his face to the moon. "Thank Starclan," he whispered.

Startled mews erupted among the watching cats.

"Graystripe's come back!"

"He must have escaped from the Twolegs!"

"How did he survive?"

"What about Brambleclaw?"

 _What about Brambleclaw?_ Hollypaw looked at her father. Firestar had held a vigil for Graystripe as he would for any dead Clanmate, and made Brambleclaw his deputy instead. But Graystripe was alive, and now he had come back. . . .

The Thunderclan deputy was staring at Graystripe. "I can hardly believe that you found us." His voice was filled with admiration, but his gaze glittered uneasily as he stepped forward and brushed muzzles with the gray warrior.

Firestar flicked his tail. "Where did they take you?"

Graystripe didn't answer. He was staring at Firestar. "So you didn't wait for me."

Pain flashed in Firestar's eyes. "I couldn't."

Graystripe dipped his head. "You could not risk the clan by keeping them in the forest."

Firestar leaned forward. "If it had been only _my_ life at stake"—he glanced around the clans, then lowered his voice—"I would have waited."

Hollypaw felt a rustling behind her. The other Thunderclan warriors were pushing their way forward to greet their old denmate.

"Graystripe!" Dustpelt dashed over. "You're alive!"

Berrypaw, Hazelpaw, Ashfur, and Spiderleg crowded excitedly around, sniffing his fur, poking him with their muzzles.

Graystripe flinched away.

"Give him some space," Leafpool warned. "He's exhausted."

"But he's a legend!" Hazelpaw complained as Leafpool shooed her and the others away with her tail.

Squirrelflight was staring at Graystripe's companion. "Who are _you_?"

"This is Millie," Graystripe meowed. "I met her in Twolegplace."

Squirrelflight gasped. "A kittypet made the journey with you?"

Brambleclaw narrowed his eyes. "Did you follow our trail?"

"No," Graystripe told him. "We found our own way."

"We searched for Graystripe's home first," Millie explained. Her voice had a hard edge that surprised Hollypaw. She thought all kittypets would speak with the same soft mew as Daisy.

Graystripe's ragged pelt bristled. "The whole forest was devastated when we got there. No cats, no prey, nothing but torn-up trees and monsters."

"How did you know which way we had gone?" Leafpool asked.

"We saw Barley and the others."

Firestar's eyes glowed. "How are they?"

"He's well, but concerned for you all." Graystripe stopped for breath before going on. "Barley said he'd seen you pass and that you were heading toward the setting sun. So we carried on over Highstones—" He broke off, his tail quivering.

Leafpool darted forward. "Are you okay?"

"Just tired." Leopardstar shouldered her way through the Thunderclan cats. A loud purr was rumbling in her throat. "It's good to see you again, Graystripe."

As she spoke the warriors from every Clan raised their voices.

"Welcome back, Graystripe!"

"How did he find us?"

"StarClan must have been watching over him!"

Cats from all four clans surged around Graystripe until he was almost lost in a forest of pelts, brown, white, ginger, and tabby. Purrs blended, rumbling like thunder, louder than the sound of the wind in the branches.

Hollypaw watched in disbelief. She knew there was a truce at the Gathering, but this was not how it was supposed to be. There were meant to be four clans, yet the warriors were acting like they belonged to the same one. She wriggled through the crush of pelts to where Lionpaw was watching with round eyes.

"It's not natural," she whispered in his ear. "Graystripe is Thunderclan. Why are the other clans making such a fuss over him?"

"I don't know," Lionpaw admitted. "I thought that being a warrior meant protecting your clan. Shouldn't the other clans be worried that Thunderclan has an extra warrior now?"

Hazelpaw nosed in beside them. "They sound like they're in one of Squirrelflight's stories about how the clans came together to make the Great Journey."

"The Great Journey's over," Hollypaw pointed out.

 _"Just because the Great Journey is over and they moved back to clan life doesn't mean forgetting the memories and feelings they've experienced during that time."_

"Did you say something?" Hollypaw asked Hazelpaw.

"Say what?" the gray-and-white she-cat asked.

"...It's nothing..." Hollypaw muttered.

"How did you know we were here?" called a sleek gray Riverclan she-cat.

Graystripe lifted his muzzle toward her. "Mistyfoot, it's good to see you again. We met a rogue who told us there were cats living by this lake," he explained. "When we reached the top of the ridge, the full moon was shining on the water and I could see shapes moving on the island."

"After that, we just followed the freshest scents," Millie explained. "They led us down to the shore and over the fallen tree."

Hollypaw heard a stifled hiss of disgust. Blackstar was staring at Millie with open malice. The gray she-cat glanced at him, then lifted her chin and returned his stare, and, even though her tail was trembling, she held the Shadowclan leader's gaze until he looked away. Hollypaw was impressed.

Graystripe saw what was happening and bristled, the muscles flexing on his broad shoulders.

"Let's not forget the truce!" Leopardstar warned.

"The truce is for _warriors_ ," Blackstar snarled.

"The _Gathering_ is for warriors!" Onestar called.

A murmur rippled through the Windclan cats and spread through Shadowclan.

"Is ThunderClan going to allow another kittypet to join its ranks?" muttered a disbelieving voice.

"I have trained Millie as a warrior!" Graystripe hissed. "A kittypet would never have survived such a long journey." His voice cracked into a cough, and Hollypaw saw that the gray warrior was trembling from his ears to the tip of his tail.

Firestar must have seen it too. He padded over to Graystripe and pressed against him. "Let us take you back to camp."

Graystripe glanced at Millie. "Do you think you can travel a little farther tonight?"

"I'll keep going as long as you need me to," she assured him.

"Very well," Firestar meowed. He looked at the other clan leaders. "Was there any other news to be shared at the Gathering?"

"Not from Riverclan," Leopardstar answered.

"Windclan is satisfied," Onestar told him.

Blackstar shook his head.

"Then let us return," Firestar called to Thunderclan, "and show Graystripe and Millie their new home."

"Does this mean Thunderclan has two deputies now?" a cat from Windclan called out boldly.

Hollypaw pricked her ears and, as she did so, she noticed Ashfur lean forward, whiskers twitching.

Sandstorm stepped up to Firestar's side. "Graystripe and Millie are tired," she reminded him quietly. "We should get them home as soon as possible."

"Yes." Firestar flicked his tail toward Brambleclaw. "Lead the way," he ordered.

* * *

The black-and-white cat stared into the waters she was standing on. The black kit that carried her power was returning to Thunderclan territory. As Hollypaw is one of the Three, her way of thinking can easily destroy herself. She will have to help prepare the kit to her duties. An elderly badger lumbered to her. Without turning to her, the she-cat mewed. "What do you want, Midnight?"

"I thought so, like Drake and that dark tom, your power was given to one of the three. Isn't that so? Silver Eye?"


	10. Hidden Voices

Hidden Voices

Hollypaw was running in the forest, enjoying the wind blowing at her muzzle. She was bigger, larger than she was before; Hollypaw padded on the hard ground of the mountain like it was her home. Mountains? Did she know what a mountain was? Wait, she does...In her home, with Thunderclan, she can see the mountains the four clans had taken during the Great Journey. So why is she out here, running without a care in the world?

A harsh jab to her frank made her flinch. Hollypaw turned, seeing nothing that could have done the jab there. So what was jabbing her?

 _Jab_

 _Jab_

 _Jab_

Hollypaw opened her eyes, blinking in the darkness wondering. She turned to her side to see a paw was pushing her frank, a golden one of course. Lionpaw had always been a messy sleeper, his muzzle wet with drool and his paws hanging in the air. One of his hind paws was kicking her flank.

The black kit turn away from her brother and out to the clearing. The sky was just turning light as sunrays appeared over the safety of the camp. The strong scent of a dawn patrol: Thornclaw, Redstrike, Silveryflight and Brightheart had just left. A pelt blushed beside her and Hollypaw turned her head to see a gray tabby.

"Jaypaw?"

"Hollypaw, you're up early," her blind brother mewed. He padded to small fresh-kill pile left over from the other day.

"Not like I could next to a tom who keeps moving in his sleep so much," Hollypaw replied, padding to him. Jaypaw took a stale thush padded to the apprentices' side of the clearing. She grabbed the tail of a vole and followed him. As she swallowed a bite, Hollypaw mewed

"Do you always wake this early?"

"I have to. Nightshimmer said hunting can help me in my warrior skills. I want to be the best warrior I can be."

...

Brackenfur stood in the clearing, giving his apprentice instructions on a technique.

"Today we'll try a trickier technique, the leap-and-hold. You jump on an opponent's back and hold tightly. It gives you a advantage of being away from the other cat's claws and with your teeth, attack their back. Now, try to jump on me."

Hollypaw nodded and leap to her mentor, aiming his back when her head felt like splitting. Many differentiates voices came to her head.

 _"The Dark Forest has been growing in power."_

 _"Tigerstar's ambition is revenge now."_

 _"The shadows of the past cannot forgive."_

 _"They'll never let go of their ambitions."_

 _"Starclan is confused, our descendants didn't quite get the messages-"_

 _"Of course they won't, true weaklings never do. They just turn a blind eye in the darkness-"_

 _"Thistle!"_

 _"-simply because they can't handle the truths! The REAL truths!"_

 _"Are you done ranting, Thistle?"_

"Hollypaw, are you okay?" Brackenfur was next to her, nudging her. She must have just stared at him blankly because of what he said next. "Can you hear me?" Her mentor mewed calmly. Hollypaw nodded, shocked.

 _"It just aggravates me how the weak constantly denies hurting others. Over and over again, they keep turning a blind eye and HURTING others-"_

 _"That was in the past, Thistle. Nowadays, they are more willing to admit it."_

 _"Not enough, since a **majority** still do it!"_

There was a smoothing tone among them.

 _"Their denial will be their downfall anyway, Thistle. Honestly, I won't think too much about it."_

 _"Well, fire was his primary element after all, Echo. They tend to snap once their negative emotions starts."_

 _"True, true."_

Suddenly, silence. Hollypaw felt she could breathe again. The smoothing tone started again, this time, urgently.

 _"Calm down, Thistle. We're hurting the poor kit."_

 _"I know. Alright Echo."_

"Hollypaw? Are you alright?" Brackenfur mewed.

Hollypaw shook her head to clear the ringing in her ears. "I'm okay now."

Brackenfur narrowed his eyes. "We'll stop for today. We're going back to camp."

Hollypaw nodded numbly, too dazed to think. All she knew next was darkness.

...

She twitched, feeling soft moss under her. The air around her was a bit stale, but heavy with the different scents of herbs. She peak though her eyes to see a shadow over her with two white paws in front of her. Hollypaw looked up to see warm amber eyes. "Leafpool..."

The medicine cat push a piece of wet moss and two black seeds to her. "Rest, Hollypaw. Take some water before taking these poppy seeds."

The black kit nodded and licked the wet moss; she lap up the seeds, letting sleep overcome her.

* * *

Hollypaw woke up in bright misty clearing. The ground below her was glowing white, with same-colored...circular objects floating in the air.

"You're finally here, Hollypaw," a mew came from behind. Hollypaw spun to see a black-and-white she-cat behind her. She had one purple eye and the other silver just like Jaypaw's blind eyes, with a patch of silver fur that appeared oddly scar-like.

"Hello there young kit, I am _(...)_. You are at the in-between. This is a place for beings from a bygone past."

Hollypaw flatten her ears. "Why am I here then? I'm alive and I'm from the present."

"That is because you have a special power, Hollypaw. You can sense your surrounds like no other cat can."

"My surroundings?"

"Like what you had heard earlier during your training with your mentor. Your powers are due to a prophecy."

"Prophecy? What prophecy? And why me?"

"There will be three, kin of your kin, who hold the power of the stars in their paws."

"Kin of your kin? Because I'm the kin of Firestar's kin? Are Lionpaw and Jaypaw in the prophecy too?"

The cat nodded and seem to look at the sky. _Can she actually see?_ "It's almost time for you to wake up, Hollypaw. We'll see each other again soon." The she-cat started to pad away.

"Wait, what is your name?!" Hollypaw cried, chasing after the blind cat.

The black-and-white cat only turned to look back once, her tail twitching in thought. "Then call me Silver Eye, Hollypaw."

Hollypaw open her holly-green eyes.


	11. Border Fight

Border Fight

"Lionpaw," Brambleclaw hissed quietly. "You have a try."

Hollypaw watched her brother placed one stealthy pawstep at a time; Lionpaw crept toward the scuffling noise. She held her breathe as Lionpaw let his paws sink slowly on the hard ground, making no sound. As he drew close enough, Lionpaw dropped to a hunting crouch, about to pounce with his tail low.

"Brambleclaw!"

The mouse scuttled out of the leaves and disappeared among the roots of a tree. Hollypaw turned to the cry.

Birchfall exploded from the undergrowth and skidded to a halt. "Shadowclan have moved the border! They've put a new line of scent marks inside Thunderclan territory!"

"Where?" Brambleclaw demanded.

"I'll show you." Without waiting, Birchfall headed away through the trees.

"Where's Dustpelt?" Brambleclaw called after him.

"Heading back to camp to warn Firestar," came the reply.

Brambleclaw turned to Nightshimmer. "Is your apprentice ready?"

"As ready as he'll ever be."

Brambleclaw nodded. He glanced at Ashfur. "Stay near them." Then he nodded to Graystripe. "Come with me."

Brambleclaw bounded after Birchfall, Graystripe following. Lionpaw pelted after them, the mouse forgotten. Hollypaw quickly raced at his side. She could hear the pawsteps of Ashfur, Nightshimmer, and Jaypaw pounding behind. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw her other brother weaving through the trees as easily as a sighted cat. _Nightshimmer's training must have really helped._ She thought in astonishment. She turned back to look ahead.

Birchfall led them back along the Thunderpath before veering into the forest and up the slope that led to the Shadowclan border. He skidded to a halt near the top. "Here!" he gasped, flicking his tail to indicate the line of birches that followed the ridge.

Hollypaw twitched her nose, her lips curled. Shadowclan _had_ marked Thunderclan trees.

"Isn't this the original border?" Graystripe asked.

"No!" Brambleclaw hissed. "The border is there." He pointed his muzzle to the top of the rise where the trees gave way to the grassy clearing.

"Did they think we wouldn't notice?" Hollypaw spat.

Ashfur raced out of the bracken behind them, followed by Nightshimmer and Jaypaw.

Jaypaw's hackles rose. "ShadowClan warriors nearby!" he warned.

As he spoke, three Shadowclan cats stalked over the rise and stood staring down at the Thunderclan patrol.

"Oakfur!" Brambleclaw hissed, staring at the small brown tom who led the trio; Owlpaw and his mentor, Smokefoot.

"A blind kit noticed us before the Thunderclan deputy knew we were here," Oakfur sneered. "How humiliating."

"Is Thunderclan so desperate for warriors that it needs to train even its most worthless kit?" snarled Smokefoot.

Jaypaw rushed forward, spitting. Nightshimmer grabbed his tail in her teeth and hauled him backward.

"A blind kit saved by a former medicine cat," mocked Oakfur. "Thunderclan isn't what it used to be. Filled with kittypets and cripples and worn-out deputies." He glared at Graystripe.

The black she-cat dropped Jaypaw's tail. "Indeed...and if I remember correctly...you were the Shadowclan warrior who was badly beaten from a cripple call Longtail. Isn't that right, Oak...croak?"

Oakfur hissed before a smiled appeared on his muzzle. "Thunderclan is hardly a real clan anymore—it's half kittypet," Oakfur put in. "I'm sure Starclan agrees that only true warriors are entitled to hunt on clan territory."

"ThunderClan has nothing but true warriors!" Brambleclaw yowled. He flattened his ears and stepped over the new marker line until he was only a tail-length away from Oakfur. "If you want our territory, you'll have to fight for every step."

Hollypaw let her claws out, looking between the Shadowclanners.

"Are you sure we won't win?" Oakfur's eyes glittered as more Shadowclan warriors began to appear over the rise, lining up like starlings on a branch.

It looked as though every Shadowclan warrior had come to fight. Their muscles bulged under their pelts, their claws glinting as they flexed them against the hard ground.

Hollypaw blushed against Lionpaw's flank. "We fight as one," she vowed.

"Get back to camp and tell Firestar to bring help." Graystripe's hissed near Lionpaw. "Now!"

Her brother turned and pelted away into the trees.

"Stop him!" Russetfur yowled. Two Shadowclan warriors streaked after him. Graystripe had launched himself onto one of the cats. The Shadowclan warrior yowled and the air exploded as the two clans charged screeching into battle. Hollypaw ducked as a Shadowclanner pounced at her. She darted away from him, clawing at his side. The tom hissed and spun on his paws, clawing at her muzzle. She yelped in pain, stumbling backwards.

Hollypaw bumped into another cat. She turned to see the dark ginger she-cat lunging for her. Too late, the Shadowclan deputy grabbed her scruff and shook. Hollypaw felt dazed with all the shaking and was thrown away from Russetfur. A grey streak flashed before her, snarling at the deputy as he slashed at her.

"Get away from her!" Graystripe growled.

Hollypaw shook her head, clearing the dizziness. She quickly returned to battle, jabbing at Russetfur. Now outmatched, the Shadowclan deputy backed a bit, stubbornly holding her ground.

Hollypaw ducked under Graystripe and shot out from beneath him, nipping the Shadowclan deputy on her hind leg with ferocity. Russetfur snarled and turned to her. Hollypaw prepared for a slash. Nothing happened. Hollypaw turned to see Lionpaw had hurled himself at Russetfur and slashing her nose. The Shadowclan deputy howled in pain as crimson blood welled beneath her eyes.

"Nice work!" Graystripe called.

As he spoke, two Shadowclan cats slammed into him, knocking him to the ground. The larger of the pair, a black tom, pressed him to the ground, while the smaller white she-cat reared on her hind legs, flexing her long claws, ready to crash down on Graystripe's head.

Orange fur blazed past Hollypaw as Firestar flew at the white warrior. He threw the Shadowclan warrior backward and slashed her cheek with a well-aimed blow.

Lionpaw leaped onto the black tom who was pinning Graystripe to the ground. He dug in his claws and bit hard into the tom's shoulder. The warrior let go of Graystripe and reared backward. At once Hollypaw darted behind him and knocked the tom's paws out from under him. Lionpaw leaped off as the warrior crashed down.

"Great move!" Lionpaw called to Hollypaw.

"He's not finished yet," she warned, watching the Shadowclan tom.

The black tom was already on his paws, hissing ferociously, but Lionpaw and Hollypaw faced him side by side, jabbing and slashing with their forepaws; they drove him back toward the border until he was panting and streaked with blood.

"Can you manage by yourself?" Lionpaw suddenly screeched to Hollypaw.

"I'll help her," Graystripe growled, leaping in beside her. The tom growled as Hollypaw felt Lionpaw had gone somewhere in battle. Both the apprentice and former deputy darted in, landing blows on the surprised Shadowclan warrior. The tom let out one last growl and ran back to his side of the territory. An angry screech teared the air.

"Milly!" Graystripe yowled and raced to save his mate, leaving her alone in battle. She suddenly faced a Shadowclan warrior.

Hollypaw hissed at a tabby warrior. They circled each other. Hollypaw flicked her ears worryingly, as she is an inexperience apprentice. No, she is an apprentice, there will always be a cat better at a certain set of skills. But she will be a warrior.

The tabby rushed at her. Hollypaw ducked her head, knocking the tabby's forepaw from under her with her muzzle. She was so low to the ground that it was easy to roll onto her side from there and thrust her hind legs in a powerful kick that sent the tabby flying. Hollypaw rolled back to her paws.

"Watch out!" Lionpaw gasped just as another Shadowclan warrior pounced on her. Hollypaw growled and wiggled, trying to get out of the warrior's grip. The heavy weight was pulled away from her. Hollypaw jumped to her paws as Graystripe wrestled Smokefoot to the ground and pummeled his belly with his thorn-sharp hind claws. Lionpaw darted to Hollypaw's side as Smokefoot yowled in pain, and Graystripe let the tom flee across the border.

"Drive the rest into the brambles!" Graystripe ordered.

"What?" Spiderleg yowled in disbelief.

"That'll only make it harder to fight them!" Birchfall called.

 _Harder...ah._ "Harder for ShadowClan!" Hollypaw hissed in Lionpaw's ear. "They don't have brambles in the pine forest."

Firestar nodded grimly. "They're not used to fighting in undergrowth!" he called. "Do as Graystripe says!"

"Everyone, spread out behind me!" Brambleclaw's order split the air. He had spun around so that his back was to the Shadowclan border.

The Thunderclan cats drew away from their enemy long enough to reposition themselves around their deputy. Confused, the Shadowclan warriors stared about them. Suddenly they were trapped on the wrong side of their border. Then Brambleclaw charged forward, his warriors flanking him on either side, and they began to press the Shadowclan warriors deeper into Thunderclan territory, where a tangle of brambles covered the forest floor.

Hollypaw hissed and growled, showing a fury of claws at a Shadowclan apprentice. Ivypaw backed away from her and Hollypaw followed, not letting her escape.

The Shadowclan warriors were beginning to trip on the brambles, struggling as much against the thorns that clawed their pelts as against the Thunderclan warriors who were forcing them farther and farther into the bush. Sandstorm's tail lashed triumphantly as a Shadowclan warrior cowered beneath her blows. Beside her, Whitewing nipped at a mottled apprentice as he tried to battle past her out of the clinging thorns. Brook and Stormfur worked together, jabbing at Smokefoot with merciless claws as he struggled farther into the brambles to escape them.

Russetfur stared in dismay at her warriors thrashing helplessly in the undergrowth. "Retreat!" she yowled. The Shadowclan cats scrambled out of the brambles, leaving clumps of fur behind as they pelted past the Thunderclan warriors and fled back into their own territory. Hollypaw watched as Ivypaw gave her one last hiss and raced away, blushing against her thorn-covered pelt.

"Hollypaw!" Lionpaw cried.

"I'm over here!" Hollypaw called out, squirming backward out of the undergrowth, her bushy tail pricked with thorns.

"Is everyone okay?" Firestar staggered out, his muzzle crimson with blood.

"Sandstorm's twisted her paw." Brambleclaw was standing beside the ginger-colored warrior as she licked at a forepaw.

"It's just a sprain," she reassured him.

"Stormfur?" Firestar looked at the gray warrior. "That looks like a bad cut on your shoulder."

"It'll heal," Stormfur replied.

"I've lost a chunk of fur from my tail," Spiderleg spat. "But it was worth it if Shadowclan thinks twice before trying to steal our territory again."

"We need to make sure they're all gone," Firestar meowed.

"I'll check," Brook offered.

"Are you injured?"

"Just a torn ear."

"Then take Spiderleg with you and search beyond the brambles," Firestar ordered. "Make sure no cat went farther into our territory."

Spiderleg and Brook hared away through the trees.

Ashfur flicked Lionpaw's shoulder with his tail. "Thank StarClan you got help so quickly."

"You held out well till we came," Firestar praised him.

"Hollypaw fought like a warrior!" Birchfall commented.

"And Jaypaw never gave ground," Nightshimmer added.

"We couldn't let Shadowclan drive us from our own territory!" Graystripe growled.

Brambleclaw gazed across the clearing where the Shadowclan cats had fled. "We're going to have to do something about Shadowclan before the next Gathering," he vowed.

"Let's start by remarking the correct boundary," Firestar ordered. "Brambleclaw, you stay here with Ashfur and Birchfall and mark every tree twice along the border."

Brambleclaw nodded.

"I'll take the rest back to camp."

Hollypaw padded to Jaypaw's side, following Firestar, away from the battle.

Lionpaw caught up with Jaypaw and Hollypaw. "Did you see me jump on Oakfur?" he mewed proudly.

"I wish I had!" Hollypaw sounded even more excited than he felt. "I was too busy seeing to that tabby warrior. I used a move Cinderpaw taught me the other day. It was brilliant doing it for real!"

"And you showed Owlpaw that he's no match for a Thunderclan apprentice," Lionpaw mewed to Jaypaw. Hollypaw turned to Jaypaw, whose tail twitch uncomfortably.

"Really? All that training paid off then, Jaypaw," Hollypaw mewed. Her brother nodded numbly, his head down.


	12. Of Ravenwing

Of Ravenwing

The breeze was perfect, blowing downwind from her prey. The apprentice carefully pad close to it, avoiding any twigs and old, fry leaves that would give her away. Softly, paw by paw, Hollypaw creep until she was about a tail-length away. The squirrel was busy nibbling on a seed, it's ears constantly twitching.

 _"You can't hear me, squirrel. You're mine."_

Hollypaw leap from her spot, and pinned the squirrel to the ground. She closed her jaws, snapping it's neck. A clean kill.

"Well done, Hollypaw. I'm certain Mousefur would like that squirrel," Brackenfur praised, appearing from the bushes.

"You think so?" Hollypaw mewed, putting the squirrel on the grass.

Her mentor nodded. "Yes, but she'd probably scold you first, then tell you a story," the golden tabby joked. "Don't forget your mouse and shrew."

...

Hollypaw followed her mentor though the tunnel. She dropped the prey on the fresh-kill pile and picked up the squirrel. Her father, the deputy, was looking around camp with careful eyes. Nightshimmer, who was in the border patrol that morning, was sharing tongues with Silveryflight. Swiftfoot's white-tipped tail vanish into the nursery, most likely to be with Daisy.

The only elder in the clan rested on the Halfrock. Nearby, Jaypaw was busy pressing the water out of the new moss bed. Hollypaw padded to Mousefur, who raised her head.

"Is that squirrel for me, Hollypaw?"

The apprentice nodded and placed squirrel for Mousefur. The elder grunted and chewed slowly. She chewed slowly, staring at Jaypaw.

"Your brother really reminds me of a warrior. A black tom with a white patch of chest fur called Ravenwing. He is a close friend of Firestar and Graystripe," Mousefur mewed, the squirrel forgotten.

"How does my brother remind you of Ravenwing? Was he blind?" Hollypaw asked, getting on a comfortable position. At a glance, Jaypaw's ears were turned to them in interest.

"No, he wasn't blind...but...he was...quite...jumpy and unusually nervous of his surroundings. Like Jaypaw, we thought he wouldn't do good as a warrior. As a kit, he was quite scared of what's around him. His brother, Dustpelt, often tries to play with him but ends up scaring him. Ah, don't tell him his brother is Ravenwing, he doesn't like to be linked to him."

Hollypaw nodded. Jaypaw was dragging the new moss bed into the elders den.

"And to make it even worse, Tigerstar was his mentor."

 _Tigerstar? Wasn't he Shadowclan's leader who almost lead the forest to self-destruction?_

"He simply didn't care about Ravenwing, even though he tried so hard to please him. Ravenwing is a good hunter, almost up to Sandstorms level. But his warrior ceremony was delayed for quite a while, multiple moons, I have to say."

"Delayed? What happened?" Hollypaw mewed.

Mousefur shot her a look. "Don't you know it's rude to interrupt your elders?!"

"Sorry!" Hollypaw squeaked. At the same time, her stomach rumpled. "Err...I go get some food from the fresh-kill pile."

"No, no, you can have this squirrel here." Mousefur immediately pushed the half eaten squirrel to her.

"Um, okay." The black apprentice nibbled on the food. Jaypaw was also just coming out of the elder's den, taking the old moss bed with him.

"Oh, Jaypaw! Why don't you come join us?"

The gray cat turned to them. "But I have to throw this away-"

"You can do that later. Come join us."

"But-"

"No buts. Just come join us."

Jaypaw immediately joined them, laying next to his sister.

Mousefur continued. "Now, where was I? Ah, yes. Ravenwing's warrior ceremony was delayed because of Tigerstar, who was Tigerclaw back then. His mentor had killed the Thunderclan deputy back then, Redtail. Because he witnessed Tigerclaw killing Redtail, he would have been killed himself if he didn't leave Thunderclan at the time. His friends helped him escape his mentor unnoticed. In fact, no cat in Thunderclan noticed. We all thought he was killed in a battle with Shadowclan."

Mousefur looked to the sky for a while before turning back to them. "For many moons, other than Firestar, Thunderclan thought Tigerclaw was a loyal warrior. Until the day he tried to kill Bluestar, the leader before Firestar. That day, he brought in rogues to attack the camp. Firestar was the only one to know and saved Bluestar. It was then he was banished from Thunderclan."

"Did Ravenwing return to Thunderclan?"

The elder paused a bit, her eyes reflecting the sunlight. "He did. Soon afterwards, Bluestar left for the Mothermouth with Firestar and Nightfrost, where we used to meet with Starclan. Ravenwing was living in a Twoleg nest called a barn. It was around that time did he return with Nightshimmer, who was Night at the time. It was then he got his warrior name."

"Where is he now? Did he go with the rest of the cats in the Great Journey" Jaypaw asked, on his paws.

"No, he died not long before the Great Journey. At the time, the Twolegs were destroying the forest, our home. They poisoned the prey and the water; and with their monsters, pushed the trees down. Every clan was starving, dying. Ravenwing thought the queens and kits from each clan should go to the barn...At least while the clans figure what to do next. They agreed willingly.

He lead them to the barn with no problems, until they almost reached the barn. A queen from Riverclan had collapsed on a Thunderpath. A monster was coming down the path. Ravenwing had just pushed the Riverclanner out of danger when he was hit."

"...Firestar and Graystripe must be devastated," Jaypaw mewed.

"They were, in fact, the clans were. They mourned for him."

The sibling nodded and continued to what they were doing. Hollypaw buried the squirrel remains. Jaypaw dragged the old moss bed from camp.

...

The sunset glowed in the sky. Hollypaw was eating with Lionpaw and Jaypaw. "I will be a warrior," Jaypaw suddenly mewed with certainly.

Lionpaw stared at his small brother. "But you're training to be a warrior?" Lionpaw asked confused.

"I am, but because of the battle the other day, I wasn't so sure about it. I think Nightshimmer noticed, because she told me to take care of Mousefur for the day. I don't think she was expecting Mousefur to talk about Ravenwing. But I'm glad sh-they did."

...

"It's a great night, isn't it, Nightshimmer," Mousefur mewed as the black warrior padded into the den.

"Indeed, it is. You can see the Silverpelt outside...So, how is Jaypaw?"

"He was a bit better this sunhigh," Mousefur paused, "Nightshimmer, I told Jaypaw about Ravenwing."

"Isn't it perfectly fine, Ravenwing was similar to Jaypaw."

"But he is so young."

Nightshimmer twitched her ears out of irritation. "What affects the soul shall affect the mind, what affects the mind shall affect the body. Sometimes, we have to choose for our own, not for others. We should stop cringing to what is badly flawed and fix it so let the future continue not just for us, but for them as well."

* * *

 _I am whom I choose to be._

 **And here is the update. The next update, I believe will have to be somewhere around next month. Need to work on LAK for...seven chapters. And Nightfrost might be mentioned a couple times and he will appear once or twice in this story.**


	13. Guarding Duty

Guarding Duty

"Dog attack! Dog attack!"

Whitewing's yowl jerked Hollypaw from her nest. Instantly awake, she scrambled to the entrance of the den, pressing against Lionpaw. Berrypaw and Mousepaw had already shot outside.

"Can you see them?" she gasped, looking wildly around camp.

"Are they near the nursery?" Hazelpaw called.

A steady drizzle drenched the camp, and the morning sky was gray with clouds. There was no sign of dogs.

Only cats filled the clearing, staring wildly around, their claws unsheathed. Spiderleg and Birchfall came streaking from the warriors' den. Graystripe and Millie skidded after them as Whitewing paced urgently below Highledge.

"Where are they?" Ferncloud's terrified mew sounded from the nursery. She crouched at the entrance, shielding Foxkit and Icekit, her eyes round with terror.

"It's just like the badger attack!" wailed Daisy, cowering beside her.

Firestar leaped down from Highledge in one bound, Sandstorm on his heels. "Where are the dogs?"

Whitewing's words came in gasps as she fought to get her breath back. "They're not on Thunderclan territory," she panted.

"Where are they, then?" Firestar demanded.

"On Windclan territory," Whitewing reported. "I was patrolling with Thornclaw and Cloudtail near the border, and we heard dogs barking and cats shrieking from the moor."

"Where are Thornclaw and Cloudtail now?"

"They went to investigate."

"StarClan protect them!" Ferncloud whimpered.

"Is Firestar going to send a patrol?" Hazelpaw mewed.

"He _must_!" Hollypaw's eyes were round. "WindClan could be wiped out."

Leafpool rushed out of the medicine den. "Any injuries?"

Whitewing shook her head. "We didn't see Windclan; w-we just heard them screeching, and the dogs . . ." Her ears twitched. "They were howling for blood."

Their leader nodded. "We must send a patrol to help Windclan," Firestar decided.

Spiderleg blinked. "Have you forgotten the last time we fought dogs?"

"We lost warriors that day," Sandstorm remembered grimly.

"It's up to Windclan to look after themselves," Jaypaw growled.

Firestar glanced at Brightheart. She had lost half her face when she'd confronted a pack of vicious dogs many moons ago. "What do you think?" he asked gently.

"We nearly lost everything when the dogs attacked us." She held her head high, but Hollypaw could see she was trembling. "We can't let the same thing happen to Windclan."

"But if we go, we risk leading them here," Dustpelt pointed out.

"They might find their way here anyway," Firestar meowed.

Brambleclaw nodded. "Windclan territory is too close to our own to ignore this," he agreed.

"Exactly." Firestar gazed at each of his warriors. "You will be risking your lives to save Windclan, but you will also be defending Thunderclan from a deadly enemy."

"We must help them!" Birchfall called.

Spiderleg paced in an agitated circle. "We have to drive the dogs away!"

"Ashfur! Graystripe!" Brambleclaw called. "You've fought dogs before. I'll need your experience. Birchfall and Spiderleg! You come too."

Lionpaw lifted his muzzle. "What about me?"

Brambleclaw glanced at Ashfur. "Is he ready?"

Ashfur gave a quick nod.

"Okay," Brambleclaw meowed. "Millie!" He swung his head toward the kittypet. "You know about dogs from when you lived in the Twolegplace, don't you?"

Millie nodded. "They don't scare me," she meowed. "And I know how easy they are to trick."

"Good." Brambleclaw nodded. "Come with us, then."

He turned to his apprentice. "You too, Berrypaw." Berrypaw unsheathed his claws, his eyes shining.

"Shall I come too?" Whitewing meowed.

"Yes. We'll need you to show us which way Thornclaw and Cloudtail went," the deputy told her.

Hollypaw was staring hopefully up at her father. "What about me?"

He shook his head. "I need you to stay here and help Brackenfur guard the camp," Brambleclaw explained. "Someone will have to patrol the entrance and make sure no dogs get in if we can't stop them at the border."

Hollypaw flicked her tail. "Yes, Brambleclaw."

The deputy glanced at Firestar. "Will Onestar accept our help?"

"I think so. Onestar's proud, but he's no fool," Firestar meowed.

"Ashfur?" Ferncloud had left the nursery and was padding toward her brother. Their mother, Brindleface, had been killed by Tigerstar to give the other dog pack a taste for cats' blood. Ferncloud would have only the worst memories of dogs. "Be careful." The she-cat rubbed her cheek along Ashfur's.

"Don't forget I've outrun a dog pack before," he meowed.

"You had me at your side then," she reminded him.

"And now I have you and your kits to protect." He licked her between the ears. "I won't let you down." His blue eyes glanced at Hollypaw a bit.

Brambleclaw was racing toward the entrance. Ashfur spun and pelted after him, falling in behind Graystripe and Millie. Birchfall and Spiderleg dashed after them, and Lionpaw and Berrypaw followed as they raced side by side.

"Well, lets guard the camp if something goes wrong, Hollypaw," Brackenfur mewed, padding to the thorny tunnel. Hollypaw followed her mentor and sat at the other side of the entrance.

 _Guarding duty is boring...Maybe I can try out my ability. Silver Eye said it was to read my surrounds...How does one read their surroundings?_

Hollypaw pondered a bit. She glanced at her mentor, who was staring towards the moors with neutral face. Hollypaw erected her ears towards him, sensing something. Like a string of emotions leading to it. "Are you worried about your mentor?"

Brackenfur turned to her, surprised. "Yes, he just came back from his journey and dogs are one of the dangerous animals we have to face from Twolegs. Was my face showing?"

 _No, it wasn't._ "Yes, it was." Suddenly, it hit her. _Was this what Silver Eye meant? Maybe I can try it out._

Hollypaw then focused on her ability, shutting her eyes. The first thing she felt was her mentor. Next, it felt like some cats was lingering around camp. There were two in the medicine cat den. As Hollypaw tried to figure out which cats are which, a new presence floated from that den to her though the thorn wall.

 _"You're not ready yet."_

"Hollypaw, are you alright?"

Hollypaw blinked. Brackenfur was right in front of her. "Brackenfur? Oh, um, I'm good."

The golden tabby let out a sigh of relief. "Thank Starclan, we won't want you fainting again. The only time you did, you missed the announcement that your father is to remain deputy."

"But it was only that time," Hollypaw whined.

"And it's still pretty recent. Leafpool told me to watch out for you if it happens again and let you rest."

"Oh, okay..."


	14. Greencough

Greencough

The quarter moon had passed. Gray clouds hung heavy over the forest.

Jaypaw shivered, his pelt damp from the rain. "I'm going to my nest," he mewed, nodding good night to Hollypaw and Lionpaw as they finished their evening meal beside the Halfrock.

Hollypaw looked up. "Already?"

"I'm tired."

"You want to get out of the rain, more like," Lionpaw joked.

Hollypaw rolled her eyes. More like Lionpaw's endless talk about the battle with the dogs was tiring. He had been going on about it for days since he got to join the battle. He wasn't as excited when they had fought against Shadowclan, though while they did ended up talking about it for the whole day. Hollypaw swallowed the last morsel of her blackbird and buried it.

"Going to your nest?"

"Yes, it's been a long day."

Lionpaw shrugged and took another bite out of his mouse, watching the raining sky.

-/-

"How are they?" Firestar asked, looking at all the cats with greencough. Mousefur wheezed, her body noticeably shaking. Ferncloud was in her nest, her eyes and nose streaming.

Leafpool pushed the few catmint left from the storage to her patients. "Not well. Nightshimmer is getting some more catmint from the garden. Hopefully the cold didn't kill the remaining ones."

Firestar's green eyes glinted in the dark. "So leafbare's harshest part is here. Rain from last sunrise will make it worse."

Hollypaw and Jaypaw watched from the entrance. "Is there anything we can do to help?" she mewed.

Firestar turned to face them. "All we can to is hunt the best we can. Prey is scarce ."

Jaypaw glance at her and both nodded. "Then we'll go hunting."

-/-

"Did you manage to catch something?" Hollypaw asked Jaypaw and Lionpaw after they meet at the agreed meeting point. Jaypaw dropped a squirrel and a water vole. Hollypaw dropped a mouse. Lionpaw shook his head, empty paw.

"There's so few," Jaypaw whispered.

Hollypaw nodded, this might be worse than she thought.

-/-

Dawn brought another victim. Hollypaw had returned with the dawn patrol led by Graystripe.

"How are the sick cats?" she called to Jaypaw. "Is there anymore cats with greencough?"

"Sleeping. Whitewing just entered the medicine cat den wheezing," Jaypaw mewed back. "How's the prey running?"

"There's hardly anything aboveground," Hollypaw reported, her ears flattened. "Even the squirrels are staying in their dens."

Nightshimmer padded out of the den, heading to the apprentices' den. She stopped by the gray apprentice. "Jaypaw, I'll be busy with the sick cats. You can do what you can to help but don't overdo yourself. Rest if you have to," she mewed urgently.

Jaypaw pricked his ears. "When will this end?"

"Until leafbare is over."

-/-

A heavy, sick presence brushed by Hollypaw. She yawned. "Poppypaw?"

The dapple she-cat glanced at her, shivering. "Oh, Hollypaw. I'm sorry. Did I wake you?"

"No, you didn't...you're going to Leafpool's den? Should I help you there?"

Poppypaw shook her head. "No, I don't want anymore cats with greencough because of me, but thank you Hollypaw." The younger apprentice watched as she pushed though the vines blocking the cold and disappeared from the den.

-/-

"I can do two patrols a day." Millie's mew rang into the den. Hollypaw blinked the sleep away as she padded to the entrance and watched. Graystripe was by Millie's side as she faced Firestar.

"Are you sure?" Firestar checked.

"I was given medicine by the vet to stop me from getting sick," Millie explained. "Whenever other cats fell ill in Twolegplace, I always stayed well."

Brambleclaw looked confused. "Vet?"

"The Cutter," Graystripe explained.

"Well, it seems the Cutter has done me a favor," Firestar meowed. "He has given me a healthy warrior."

Firestar had called Millie a warrior. Millie stood straighter at the word. Hollypaw felt Lionpaw brushed against her as Graystripe purred.

"But," Firestar went on, "I don't want Graystripe to go with you."

Graystripe's purr died in his throat. "Why not?"

"You're still weak from your journey," Firestar replied firmly. "And I can't afford to lose you again. There are plenty of ways you can help in camp."

Graystripe bristled at first, then nodded. He did not challenge his old friend. The siblings figure it would be a good time to come out. The warriors turn to them.

"We want to go on the first patrol," Lionpaw mewed.

"Unless the Clan needs us in camp," Hollypaw added.

Brambleclaw looked at them proudly, then turned to the Thunderclan leader to decide. "Firestar?"

Firestar swept his tail thoughtfully over the ground. "Lionpaw, you can patrol the border with Ashfur and Millie," he meowed. "Hollypaw can hunt with Birchfall and Dewyfern."

"I'll do my best," Hollypaw promised and paused. "Where's Jaypaw?"

"He's hunting with Sandstorm and Squrrielflight." Just as Brambleclaw answered her, the hunting group returned. Jaypaw padded in with two pieces of prey and headed to the fresh-kill pile.

"How did Jaypaw do?" Brambleclaw mewed.

"He was hardworking, searching for prey," Sandstorm praised.

Brambleclaw nodded. "Jaypaw, Icekit and Foxkit will be hungry. Will you take some prey to them?"

Jaypaw nodded and headed to the nursery. Hollypaw watched him until Birchfall called her.

"Come on, Hollypaw!" Birchfall's call was edgy with impatience, and she shot away to join him.

-Jaypaw's POV-

The smell of fresh-kill made his belly rumble; but Icekit and Foxkit needed food more than he did. Jaypaw padded in with a mouse.

Daisy looked up from the rustle of leaves. "Oh Jaypaw. Icekit, Foxkit, look; Jaypaw bought a mouse for us. Now, what do you say?"

"Thank you!"

"Welcome." Jaypaw grunted and padded away from the nursery.

There was a rustling on the slope outside the thorn barrier. Jaypaw tensed. He smelled Windclan. Firestar padded to the entrance and sniffed the air.

"There's only two of them," Jaypaw called. He did not recognize the scents of the two WindClan cats who were padding toward the entrance of the hollow, but he sensed their anxiety in their desperate, heavy pawsteps as they padded into the camp.

The older of the two cats spoke first. "Forgive us for trespassing on ThunderClan territory."

"Weaselfur!" Firestar sounded surprised. "What are you doing here?"

Jaypaw padded closer. The younger cat smelled of herbs.

"I've brought Kestrelpaw to speak with Leafpool," Weaselfur meowed.

 _Kestrelpaw!_ Jaypaw remembered Hazelpaw mentioning Barkface's apprentice when they were at the Gathering.

"Hi, there," he called.

Kestrelpaw was fidgeting nervously, kneading the ground. "Are you Jaypaw?" he asked. "I need to speak to your medicine cat."

Leafpool was already out of her den and padding toward Kestrelpaw. "What is it?"

"There's greencough in Windclan," Kestrelpaw mewed. "Barkface was hoping you could share your catmint."

Leafpool sighed. "We have none. The frost killed it. We have sick cats too, and there's nothing we can do to help them."

Squirrelflight padded to join her sister. "Riverclan have catmint," she meowed. "They would share it with us, wouldn't they?"

"I've wondered about that," Leafpool meowed.

Jaypaw's tail bristled. Why hadn't she mentioned it before?

"Let's go and ask them," Kestrelpaw suggested.

"Mothwing might need all her supplies for her own clan," Leafpool fretted.

"She wouldn't let our clanmates die if she knew how sick they were," Squirrelflight argued.

"She might already know," Kestrelpaw pointed out. "Starclan might have told her."

 _Do they?_

Leafpool shuffled her paws. "But what if there's greencough in Riverclan too? She couldn't risk giving away her supplies."

"Leafpool." A sharp mew came from behind his aunt.

Nightshimmer padded to greet Kestrelpaw. "Hello, Kestrelpaw. So, Windclan needs catmint as well?"

"Y-yes."

"Leafpool, you do remember that Mothwing _is_ a medicine cat. But how would you know if Mothwing does need all the catmint for her clanmates without asking?"

"I don't...but what if she needs all of them?"

"She might, she might not. Now, how would Mothwing feel if you never asked for her help at a time like this?"

"...Very well," Leafpool mewed, understanding. "I'll go and ask her."

"I'll stay here and look after the cats." Nightshimmer padded back to the medicine cat den, with strange pawsteps...Emotionless?

"We'd better get going," Leafpool meowed to the two Windclan cats after staying silent for a short time.

Firestar padded over to block the entrance before Leafpool could head out. "I want Thornclaw and Silveryflight to go with you," he meowed.

"But we're medicine cats," Leafpool pointed out. "No cat will dare stop us."

"You're going to have to skirt the lake around Shadowclan territory," Firestar pointed out. "I don't trust Shadowclan right now."

"Very well," Leafpool meowed. She waited impatiently while Firestar called Thornclaw from the warriors' den, and then the patrol raced out of the camp like rabbits.

-Jaypaw's dream-

Jaypaw blinked, seeing. "Is this what a forest looks like?" The tabby stared at his gray paws. "I can see! But...what is this place? I don't recognize the scents here."

"Jaypaw!" Poppypaw called out.

"Poppypaw? You're...colorful..." Jaypaw stared at her dappled tortoiseshell-and-white pelt.

"Colorful? Wait, you can _see_ me?" Poppypaw stared at him, surprised.

"Um, yes?"

"Weird. But you finally get to see things, right?"

"Uh huh."

"I've never been to this part of the forest before." She sniffed the air. "It doesn't smell like home. Do you know where we are?"

"No."

"It's strange," Poppypaw mewed. "Whatever herbs Nightshimmer gave me must have worked, because I don't feel sick anymore."

"The trees are so tall and leafy, and the undergrowth is thicker than anything." Poppypaw obviously forgot Jaypaw could see in her excitement. "Can you smell all the scents of prey? It's like greenleaf here!"

Jaypaw didn't reply. Something told him Poppypaw shouldn't be here, dream or no dream.

"It's so beautiful-Stop! There's a drop right there."

Jaypaw could clearly see the hollow below them, the pool cradled at the bottom like liquid starlight. He saw the shining pelts of cats gathered around the slopes. No. Starclan.

"There's a pool at the bottom," Poppypaw breathed. "There are cats all around it. . . ." Her mew trailed away, coming to the same realization. "It's Starclan, isn't it? Does that mean I'm dead?"

Jaypaw's throat went dry.

"Am I dead?" she repeated more urgently.

"Not yet."

Jaypaw spun around when he heard the gentle voice. A dapple she-cat stood behind them.

Poppypaw's eyes clouded with confusion as she stared at her. "Who are you? Have you come to guide me to Starclan?"

"No, little one," she meowed. "You can go with Jaypaw. There is a place here for you, but not yet." Stretching forward, she touched her muzzle first to Poppypaw's and then to Jaypaw's. "Take her home," she whispered.

"Who are you?" Jaypaw couldn't help but to ask.

"I am Spottedleaf. And remember. There will be three, kin of your kin...who hold the power of the stars in their paws."

"What do you mean?"

Spottedleaf gave him a sad look. "You know someday. It is not my place to tell you."

Jaypaw stared at her and turned away. "Follow me," he told Poppypaw and led her back into the forest, away from the glittering hollow.

* * *

343


	15. Suggestion

Suggestion

Hollypaw twitched her nose. Something was different. The air smelled damp and warm.

Happily, she stretched in her nest, pushing against Jaypaw's back with her hind paws.

"Get off!" Jaypaw complained.

"Can't you smell it?"

Hazelpaw yawned, nose twitching. "Smell what? That you can smell more now without the cold bothering?"

"It's warmer!" Hollypaw jumped out of her nest.

She ducked out of the den and screwed up her eyes against the light. The frost had gone. The clearing was damp where the ice had melted, the bushes dripping, and sunshine was already filling the camp with pale yellow. At the top of the cliffs, the trees seemed wrapped in a green haze. Newleaf had arrived at last.

Firestorm was grooming Sandstorm below Highledge. His bones looked sharp beneath his pelt as he crouched to lick Sandstorm's ears, but his tail flicked happily. Icekit and Foxkit squealed with delight as Birchfall and Berrypaw chased them in circles outside the nursery.

Ferncloud rested beside Daisy at the den entrance, clearly enjoying the morning's warmth. Her eyes were clear, and only a little crust around her nose betrayed that she had been so ill. Poppypaw was on the mend too, recovering in the elders' nest with Mousefur, though she wouldn't be well enough to go to the Gathering tonight.

Hollypaw heard paws pounding through the thorn barrier, and Thornclaw charged into camp at the head of a patrol. A mouse dangled from his jaws. Whitewing followed him, carrying a small chaffinch, and Ashfur and Lionpaw came in last, each carrying a vole.

Hollypaw's eyes grew round. She hadn't seen so much fresh-kill in ages.

As Thornclaw dropped his catch onto the patch of earth that had been empty for too long, Firestar got to his paws to greet the returning patrol. "It looks like the prey's running richer already!"

Lionpaw padded excitedly around Ashfur. "There were primroses on the Shadowclan border and buds on the Sky Oak!"

"And prey seemed to be moving in every burrow," Whitewing added.

Firestar scanned the clearing. "Brambleclaw?"

The deputy came hurrying out of the warriors' den, Squirrelflight behind him.

"The prey's running again." Firestar flicked his tail toward the fresh-kill pile. "Lead another patrol out toward the Windclan border and see what you can catch."

Brambleclaw's eyes lit up with excitement. "Berrypaw!" he called to his apprentice. "We're going hunting."

"Can we come too?" Foxkit begged.

Icekit swiped her brother playfully around the ears. "We're only kits," she mewed. "They'll never let us go with them."

Icekit's short whiskers quivered with amusement. "Next time we need leaves, I'm sure Brambleclaw will ask you to help!"

"You'll make a great warrior," Berrypaw told him. "And I promise to bring something tasty back for you."

Hollypaw darted forward. "Can I go with them?" she asked Brambleclaw.

"You're going to the Gathering tonight," he meowed. "I want you to save your energy for that."

"But I've been asleep half the morning," she protested.

"You're half-starved, like the rest of the clan," Brambleclaw told her. "Rest and eat today. You can hunt tomorrow."

"But Lionpaw's been hunting!" Hollypaw answered hotly. "It's not fair."

"Life isn't fair. Stay in camp." He nodded to Squirrelflight and together they led Berrypaw out into the forest.

Furious, Hollypaw turned and stomped across the clearing. Her clan was starving and they wouldn't let her hunt! For a moment, she wondered whether to sneak out of camp and hunt by herself. But if she got caught, Firestar probably wouldn't let her go to the Gathering or hunting tomorrow. It wasn't worth it.

-/-

Overhead, the great white moon made the hollow glow with silver light.

Hollypaw sniffed the air. _Clear skies. A good sign._

Graystripe and Millie waited in the clearing with Redstrike and Stormfur. Brackenfur sat beside them, tugging with his teeth at the fur between his claws. Squirrelflight washed her ears as Brambleclaw stood next to her and glanced up at Highledge. They would leave for the Gathering as soon as Firestar appeared.

The apprentices were fidgeting beside the thorn barrier.

"Do you think Blackstar will mention the battle?" Jaypaw mewed.

Honeypaw paced in front of the camp entrance. "I bet Shadowclan never talks about its defeats."

"What do you think, Hollypaw?" Lionpaw asked.

The black kit shrugged. "I don't know, but I agree with Honeypaw. Shadowclanners are prideful after all. Too prideful, maybe."

The other apprentices nodded and Jaypaw's ears twitched to the Highledge. Firestar had leaped down from Highledge, Sandstorm behind him.

Firestar signaled with a flick of his tail, then dived out through the thorn tunnel. Brambleclaw and the other warriors sped after him. The apprentices bunched together as they raced to be first out of camp. Lionpaw's pelt brushed against Hollypaw's. His fur was bristling as they burst from the tunnel. Jaypaw quickly followed behind.

He nudged against Lionpaw, who bumped against Hollypaw. "Hey!" "What was that for?!"

"Because we're siblings!" Jaypaw laughed and sped ahead to their parents. "Help!" he squealed between them. "They're trying to get me!"

A purr rumbled in Brambleclaw's throat. "Don't hide behind me!" He and his mate lengthened their stride and shot forward, leaving Jaypaw undefended.

Lionpaw and Hollypaw caught up with him and nudged him, making him stumble.

"Now we're even!" she called.

"And a dream!" Jaypaw mewed.

The patrol pounded down the slope toward the lakeshore. Graystripe pulled ahead, clearly excited to be going to a Gathering with his clan once more. He glanced, eyes shining, at Millie, as she caught up with him. "Do you still think you made the right decision, coming with me to the clan?"

"Wherever you are is the right place for me to be," Millie replied quietly.

Leaves turned to grass and then marsh beneath their paws, and the cats slowed as they skirted the lake. They had to travel slowly over the boggy earth, which gave way under every pawstep.

Before long Hollypaw could see the silhouette of the fallen tree bridging the gap between shore and island. Her paws tingled, and she quickened her step. Firestar and Squirrelflight were already crossing, with Sandstorm and Honeypaw right behind them, while Brambleclaw and Berrypaw waited their turn next to Leafpool.

"Are you ready?" Brackenfur asked as he caught up to her by the tree-bridge.

"Totally!" she mewed.

"Up you go, then." Brackenfur waited while Hollypaw scrambled up among the tangled roots. She unsheathed her claws, ready for the slippery bark. Gripping on tightly, she wove her way among the twigs and knotholes, relieved when she had crossed the black, lapping water and could jump down onto the shore.

While the other cats crossed behind her, Hollypaw watched for Firestar's signal. Moonlight glittered on the lake beyond the trees, and she could smell the scents of the other clans already on the island. Her heart thumped as hard as rabbits' paws when Firestar nodded and headed into the undergrowth.

Lionpaw had halted behind her. He was staring into the clearing. "Something's wrong," he whispered.

"What?" Hollypaw glanced around, suddenly apprehensive.

It seemed different from last time. The other cats were huddled with their Clanmates, not milling around or sharing tongues with different Clans. They looked thinner and angrier, their eyes gleaming like foxes.

"Is it because of leaf-bare?" Hollypaw mewed.

"It's been a tough leaf-bare," Firestar reassured his clanmates. "Everyone's weaker and hungrier. They'll be warier. So be cautious."

Hollypaw stayed by her brothers. She didn't like the angry glances that flashed from warrior to warrior.

"Don't worry," Lionpaw murmured. "Everyone will settle down soon."

A hiss and a yowl made Hollypaw jerk her head around. Fur and claws flew as Berrypaw leaped onto Owlpaw. The Shadowclan apprentice wrestled him over and pinned him to the ground, but Berrypaw slid sideways with a quick, clean jerk and unbalanced him.

"Stop it!" Brambleclaw's fierce mew echoed around the trees. He raced to his apprentice and plucked him away from Owlpaw by his scruff. Berrypaw's legs still churned in the air, his claws gleaming in the moonlight.

"There's a truce!" Brambleclaw reminded him sternly.

Hollypaw glanced up at the moon. Thin wisps of cloud were drifting in front of it. Her heart lurched. Had Berrypaw and Owlpaw upset Starclan?

Berrypaw shook out his pelt as Brambleclaw dropped him unceremoniously to the ground. "Owlpaw started it," he growled. "He called me a kittypet!"

Hollypaw felt her pelt bristle. Berrypaw had been training for moons to be a Thunderclan warrior. And yet he wasn't truly clanborn. He had been born in horseplace with Hazelpaw and Mousepaw, not in the hollow. Daisy had brought them to Thunderclan only to stop the Twolegs from taking them away.

A yowl sounded from the Great Oak. "Let the Gathering begin!" Firestar called.

Hollypaw wove her way through her clanmates to sit between Leafpool and Brambleclaw. Lionpaw and Jaypaw squeezed in beside her.

"Look at the way Blackstar is glaring at us!" she gulped. The Shadowclan leader was staring down at the Thunderclan cats through slitted eyes, his lips twitching as though he only just suppressed a snarl.

Leopardstar spoke first. "Riverclan has suffered this past moon." The golden-spotted tabby gazed solemnly around the clans. "Just when we hoped newleaf would bring an end to the hard season, new frosts brought more hunger, and with it, sickness."

Cats from all four clans murmured in agreement.

Leopardstar narrowed her eyes. "Who knows what the next seasons will bring? Twolegs invaded our territories last greenleaf. Will they come in greater numbers this time and destroy our land, just as they did in the forest?"

"Why should they?" Redstrike called from among Windclan.

"Why should leaf-bare have brought so much tragedy?" Leopardstar shot back. "Is Starclan trying to send us a message? Could it be that we do not belong here?"

"I've had no signs from Starclan to suggest anything like that!" Leafpool put in quickly.

"Nor I!" Barkface agreed.

"We've always had to endure times of hunger and sickness," Squirrelflight pointed out. "Even back in the forest!"

"Squirrelflight's right!" Onestar agreed.

Leopardstar glanced sideways to Blackstar, and Hollypaw noticed her flick her tail, as though she was prompting the Shadowclan leader to do something.

Blackstar's eyes grew thin and hostile. "Littlecloud has had a sign!" he announced.

All eyes turned to Littlecloud. The Shadowclan medicine cat's pelt was ruffled, and his eyes were clouded with anxiety. "I dreamed that a warrior brought strange new prey into the camp, a bird I had never seen before. I bit into it and found its belly writhing with maggots."

Anxious whispers rippled around the clans. They were silenced by Blackstar. "Starclan is warning us that strangers are poisoning the clans!"

"They might be warning us to be wary of unfamiliar prey!" Leafpool objected.

A shadow fell over the clearing, and Hollypaw saw with dread that more thin clouds were passing in front of the moon. Starclan was definitely unhappy.

Blackstar glared at Firestar. "You have given a home to so many cats born outside the forest that you are weakening Clan blood," he accused. "Why else would Starclan let us suffer?" He stared accusingly at the Thunderclan leader, then let his gaze sweep over Stormfur, Brook, Berrypaw, and Millie.

Outrage churned in Hollypaw's belly. They are all warriors! Even she had distant kittypet blood, but she was clanborn through and through.

"Kittypets and outsiders!" Oakfur sneered.

"You are destroying the warrior code!" Owlpaw yowled.

Brambleclaw's pelt bristled, and Stormfur got to his paws, curling his lip in a snarl. But Firestar's fierce gaze flashed across the clans, silencing them.

"We will not be blamed for bad weather!" he hissed. "We suffered worse things in our old home. Starclan led us here. Did any cat expect that they would lead us to an easy life?" The clans listened in silence at first; then some cats began to murmur in agreement as he went on. "Surely it is our struggle against hardship that makes us true warriors." He glared at Blackstar. "You think fresh blood in the clans will weaken us? A life without hardship would weaken us more."

Onestar nodded. "Blackstar talks as though Starclan should grant us nothing but blessings. Does he want us to live the spoiled life of kittypets?"

Blackstar shot him a look of cold fury.

Redstrike got to his paws. "Pure blood is no guarantee of virtue! If that is all you can think, you will only bring chaos to yourself! And besides, have you forgotten your own deputy and one of _your_ elders back in the forest?!" The sky lighten a bit.

The ginger tom and Shadowclan leader stared at each other, both refusing to break contract.

"May I have permission to speak?" Hollypaw turned and saw Squirrelflight padding her way to the front of the clan. Firestar nodded.

Squirrelflight gazed calmly around the Clans. Hollypaw felt pride warming her pelt. _Go on, Squirrelflight!_

"We have all suffered," Squirrelflight acknowledged. "But we must look forward, not back. Newleaf has come. Our territories are warming up and filling with prey. Thanks to Mothwing, we all have a good supply of catmint."

As she spoke, a warm breeze swept across the island. The clearing brightened as the clouds started to drift away from the moon.

"Starclan agrees with her!"

"It's a sign!"

Pelts smoothed and tails fell still as the cats began to calm down.

Squirrelflight went on. "This is the start of our second newleaf by the lake. We should mark its return with a special Gathering."

Hollypaw leaned forward, puzzled. "While the moon is still full, we could meet in daylight."

"Why should we do that?" Blackstar snapped. "The truce comes only with the full moon."

"The moon is as full during the day as it is at night," Crowfeather pointed out.

"We should meet," Squirrelflight pressed, "to share skills and training methods. To show that we have not forgotten the Great Journey that brought us here, when the warrior code protected us as one."

"We could have contests!" For the first time Pebblepaw spoke. The Riverclan apprentice's eyes were shining with enthusiasm.

"The apprentices from each clan could compete against one another to see who has the best skills!" Heatherpaw called out.

Even Owlpaw looked interested. "I bet I could beat any Thunderclan cat at hunting!" he boasted.

"No cat could beat Pouncepaw at catching fish!" called Mistyfoot.

"That's cheating!" Lionpaw mewed. "Every cat knows only Riverclan enjoy getting their paws wet!"

Hollypaw realized that the clans' fear and anger had turned to excitement and friendly challenge. Her mother had distracted them from accusations of impure blood by reminding them of the time they had united to make the Great Journey, and of how much they could still offer to one another. Hollypaw glanced up at Firestar. The Thunderclan leader sat in silence, his eyes gleaming with pride as he looked down at Squirrelflight.

Even Onestar seemed keen. "Where should we hold this competition?"

"What about on the land where we first sheltered when we arrived at the lake?" Redstrike answered.

Leopardstar shook her head. "It's too marshy."

"The land between the forest and the lake on our territory would be great for a Gathering," Firestar offered. "It's grassy, so all cats will be used to the terrain. And it drains well even in the wettest weather. There's enough space, and no cat will get his paws wet. So long as each clan brings its own freshkill, we could meet there."

"The moon will still be almost full in two sunrises," Leopardstar meowed. "Shall we meet then?" She gazed around the clans. Heads were nodding and tails flicking with excitement.

"Very well," Leopardstar concluded.

She turned to Firestar. "If it's all right with you, we will meet at sunhigh."

Firestar nodded.

Hollypaw shifted her paws, suddenly uneasy. The Gathering would be fun, but it wouldn't stop the other Clans from blaming ThunderClan's mixed blood the next time something went wrong.

"Then it's settled," Onestar agreed. He leaped down from the tree, followed by Firestar and Leopardstar. Only Blackstar lingered, his eyes narrowed not just in anger but in thought. Redstrike's mouth curled as he stared at the Shadowclan leader and shook his head, almost as if scolding himself.

But the Gathering was breaking up, the cats padding away from the clearing, chattering like starlings.


	16. Daylight Gathering

Daylight Gathering

Hollypaw yawned and stretched in her nest. Jaypaw had already gone out hunting. Lionpaw was still sleeping, his nest wet with drool.

Hollypaw jabbed his ribs. "Wake up, sleepy head. You won't want to miss the Daylight Gathering."

Lionpaw grunted and yawned. Hollypaw gave herself a couple quick licks, smoothing out her nest pelt and padded out. Brambleclaw was ordering hunting patrols while Firestar was with the senior warriors, mewing about the contests.

"Birchfall and Thornclaw will be leading the patrols. Redstrike, Cloudtail, and Sandstorm, you go with Thornclaw. Birchfall, you take Swiftfoot, Brightheart, and Brook."

"Can we help?" Hollypaw asked.

Brambleclaw looked at her amused. "Think you can keep up with the contests?"

"Of course!" Lionpaw retorted, his fur messy.

The cat purred and laughed in amusement. Brambleclaw's deep purr slowed as he answered. "How about you watch and wait for Windclan at the border? When you see them, I want you two to tell us."

Hollypaw and Lionpaw nodded and raced out of the camp.

-/-

Their pawsteps drummed through the entrance and skidded to a halt. Jaypaw stared at them, a mouse at his paws.

"They're here!" Lionpaw panted.

Hollypaw trotted in circles, unable to keep still. "Windclan are heading down toward the lake!"

Foxkit's and Icekit's tiny paws pattered from the nursery.

"Are they really here?" Foxkit demanded.

"Any sign of Shadowclan?" Icekit's mew was tinged with nervousness.

"Not yet," Lionpaw told him. "But it looks like just about the whole of Windclan have come."

"I wish we were going!" Foxkit mewed.

"We'll have fun here," Ferncloud called from the nursery entrance.

"Why do we have to stay in camp?" Icekit wailed. "It's not fair."

Soon, Birchfall and Thornclaw pounded through the thorn tunnel, their patrols crowding after them. Hollypaw smelled the delicious flavors of fresh-kill. Every cat must have caught a piece of prey.

"Well done!" Firestar told them. "No cat will go hungry today."

A yowl rang through the forest above the hollow.

"That's Leopardstar!" Lionpaw mewed. "Riverclan have arrived!"

"It must be time to go," Hollypaw put in. "The Gathering starts at sunhigh."

Hollypaw was taking part in one of the first contests, a match to see which apprentice had the best fighting skills. At the same time, Jaypaw would be set against a Windclan apprentice in a hunting contest. Lionpaw would be tree climbing at a later contest.

Rocks clattered from Highledge as Firestar bounded down into the clearing. The ginger tom gave one last look at the apprentices. "And lastly, good luck with your contests!"

-Contest-

Hollypaw watched as Jaypaw and Breezepaw scampered up the slope and disappeared among the trees to hunt. The fur along Jaypaw's spine was spiked with excitement.

 _Good luck!_

"Hollypaw, are you ready?" Onestar called.

Hollypaw spun around. Heatherpaw was already waiting on the patch of smooth grass, circled by warriors and apprentices, her shoulders squared, ready for the match.

"Come on, Hollypaw," Brambleclaw urged. He stood beside Brackenfur, his eyes shining.

Hollypaw could hear the excited murmuring of the clan cats. She felt as though fish were wriggling in her belly, but she wasn't going to show any cat she was nervous. She crouched opposite Heatherpaw, narrowing her eyes.

"Keep your claws sheathed," Onestar ordered. He swept his tail over the grass, and Hollypaw tensed. The Windclan apprentice was small, but Hollypaw knew that Heatherpaw had one moon more experience than she did, and that her sleek pelt hid hard muscle.

"Begin!" Onestar called.

Heatherpaw leaped. She crashed into Hollypaw, bowling her over. Hollypaw felt teeth grip her scruff, not hard enough to break the skin, but firm enough to make her freeze with alarm. She couldn't be beaten this easily! Heatherpaw had caught her like a rabbit. If it is as that black-and-white she-cat said, she cannot allow herself be beaten so easily.

Thinking quickly, Hollypaw tucked her head and kicked out with her hind legs. She somersaulted forward, taking Heatherpaw with her and sending the Windclan apprentice sprawling onto her back. Free of her grip, Hollypaw leaped up, spun around, and flew at Heatherpaw. But her rival had rolled out of the way. Seething, Hollypaw landed on bare grass.

She glanced sideways. Heatherpaw was darting toward her. Energy flashed in her paws, and she leaped high into the air. As Heatherpaw skidded wildly beneath her, Hollypaw crashed down onto the confused Windclan cat's back. Wrapping her paws around her opponent, she rolled Heatherpaw over and began pummeling her with her hind paws.

Heatherpaw, slippery as a snake, wriggled free of her grasp. She reared onto her hind legs and faced Hollypaw with flailing forepaws. Hollypaw rose to meet her, and the two apprentices battled like dancing hares.

"Finish her, Heatherpaw!" Crowfeather called.

"Knock her off her paws!" Brackenfur yowled.

Hollypaw's ear twitched. _What do you think I'm trying to do?_

Hollypaw's muzzle was beginning to sting. Heatherpaw's blows were strong and well aimed, and Hollypaw didn't want this to go on for much longer. Taking a deep breath, she ducked, leaving Heatherpaw flapping her paws at thin air. She scooted between Heatherpaw's hind legs, unbalancing the Windclan apprentice. Then she twisted and sank her teeth—careful not to draw blood—into Heatherpaw's scruff, pressing her chin into the ground. Heatherpaw let out an angry wail, struggling furiously, but Hollypaw had dug her claws into the earth on either side of the Windclan apprentice. Heatherpaw could not get free.

"It's all over!" Onestar meowed. "Hollypaw is the winner!"

The Thunderclan cats cheered, and Hollypaw let go.

Heatherpaw jumped up. "Well done," she panted. "That was a great move at the end!"

"Good work, Hollypaw!" Brambleclaw rushed over and swept his tail over his daughter's flank.

"She wouldn't have beaten _me_ so easily," hissed a voice close by.

Heatherpaw narrowed her eyes at Ivypaw, a Shadowclan apprentice.

Hollypaw spun around. "Want to bet on that?"

She felt a paw cuff her ear."One win is enough." Brackenfur was staring at her proudly.

-/-

Jaypaw was racing with Breezepaw neck to neck, the squirrel right in front of them. Jaypaw then felt the ground loose and quickly hop back, not trusting the soil where he does not usually tend paws on. Ahead, he could sent fox and badger sent.

Breezepaw continued. "The squirrel's mine!"

"Wait! Breezepaw!"

There was a heavy crash on the ground.

* * *

 **Nest pelt=Bed hair**


	17. Allegiances

Allegiances

Jaypaw ignored the squirrel, and padded to loose area. His paws touched sand and it quivered beneath his forepaws as though something squirmed beneath it. _Down there!_

Gripping with his hind claws, he squatted down and began to dig, scooping out earth as fast as he could.

"Help!" he wailed, hoping some cat would hear. "Over here!"

His hind claws lost their grip and he slid forward, his forepaws sinking into the sand. "Starclan help me!"

He reared backward, his muscles screaming with the effort. He couldn't give up now. He slithered forward again and kept digging, his hind paws trembling with the effort of keeping him out of the sinking ground. Soil pressed up against his chest and chin. Terror gripped his whole body.

Suddenly his paws brushed against fur. With a rush of hope, he hooked his claws into it and heaved with all his strength. The fur wriggled and fought in his grip, struggling to push upward until Jaypaw could scrabble far enough back to drag the body out of the soil.

Spluttering and gasping, Breezepaw slithered away from the patch of soft earth and collapsed on the rock. The Windclan apprentice coughed.

"He's going to need help in order the breath properly, Jaypaw."

The gray apprentice spun around, catching the scent of Silveryflight. "What?"

"Your paws are the smallest. Reach into his mouth and clear as much dirt as you can. Sheath your claws."

Jaypaw sheathed his claws. Trembling, he reached into Breezepaw's mouth.

A tail brushed against him. "Calm down, Jaypaw. You're doing well," the warrior calmly mewed.

Jaypaw, forcing himself to stop tembling, scooped the earth from the back of Breezepaw's throat.

Suddenly Breezepaw coughed and his body writhed as he spat up earth from his stomach and lungs.

Jaypaw turned back to the warrior. "How did you know that?"

"E-Nightshimmer told me. And I do know how to calm cats down. Let's get him back to camp."

A shocked yowl sounded the clearing. Crowfeather and Nightcloud gave one look at their son and rushed to him.

* * *

 **THUNDERCLAN**

Leader: Firestar-ginger tom with a flame-colored pelt and green eyes

Deputy: Brambleclaw-dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes. Apprentice, Berrypaw

Medicine Cat: Leafpool-light brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Warriors:

Dustpelt-dark brown tabby tom; Apprentice, Hazelpaw

Sandstorm-pale ginger she-cat with green eyes. Apprentice, Honeypaw

Cloudtail-long-haired white tom with blue eyes. Apprentice, Cinderpaw

Brackenfur-golden brown tabby tom, amber eyes. Apprentice, Hollypaw

Thornclaw-golden brown tabby tom. Apprentice, Poppypaw

Swiftfoot-black and white tom with amber eyes

Brightheart-white she-cat with ginger patches with blue eyes

Whitewing-white she-cat with pale green eyes

Ashfur-pale gray (with darker flecks) tom, dark blue eyes. Apprentice, Lionpaw

Sorreltail-tortoiseshell and white she-cat with amber eyes

Spiderleg-long-limbed black tom with brown underbelly and amber eyes, Apprentice, Mousepaw

Brook Where Small Fish Swim (Brook)-brown tabby she-cat with gray eyes, formerly of the Tribe of Rushing Water

Stormfur-dark gray tom with amber eyes, formerly of RiverClan

Birchfall-light brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Nightshimmer-feathery black she-cat with purple eyes. Apprentice, Jaypaw

Longtail-blind, pale tabby tom with black stripes

Redstrike-red tom with icy blue eyes

Silveryflight-silver tom with green eyes

Dewyfern-pale golden she-cat

Apprentices:

Berrypaw-cream-colored tom

Hazelpaw-small gray and white she-cat

Mousepaw-gray and white tom with green eyes

Cinderpaw-gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Honeypaw-light brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Poppypaw-tortoiseshell she-cat

Hollypaw-black she-cat with green eyes

Lionpaw-golden tabby tom with amber eyes

Jaypaw-gray tabby tom with blue eyes

Queens:

Ferncloud-pale gray (with darker flecks) she-cat, green eyes, mother of Dustpelt's kits: Icekit and Foxkit

Daisy-cream-colored, long-furred cat from the horseplace, Swiftfoot's mate

Elders:

Mousefur-small dusky brown she-cat

 **SHADOWCLAN**

Leader: Blackstar-large white tom with huge jet-black paws

Deputy: Russetfur-dark ginger she-cat with green eyes

Medicine Cat: Littlecloud-very small tabby tom with blue eyes

Warriors:

Oakfur-small brown tom

Rowanclaw-ginger tom with green eyes. Apprentice, Ivypaw

Smokefoot-black tom. Apprentice, Owlpaw

Snowbird-pure white she-cat with green eyes

Apprentices:

Ivypaw-black, white, and tortoiseshell she-cat

Owlpaw-light brown tabby tom

Queens:

Tawnypelt-tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes, mother of Tigerkit, Flamekit, and Dawnkit

Elders:

Cedarheart-dark gray tom

Tallpoppy-long-legged light brown tabby she-cat

 **WINDCLAN**

Leader: Onestar-brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Deputy: Ashfoot-gray she-cat

Medicine Cat: Barkface-short-tailed brown tom. Apprentice, Kestrelpaw

Warriors:

Tornear-tabby tom. Apprentice, Harepaw

Crowfeather-dark gray tom with blue eyes. Apprentice, Heatherpaw

Owlwhisker-light brown tabby tom

Whitetail-small white she-cat. Apprentice, Breezepaw

Weaselfur-ginger tom with white paws

Nightcloud-black she-cat

Apprentices:

Kestrelpaw-brownish-gray tom with little white splotches

Harepaw-brown and white tom

Heatherpaw-light brown tabby she-cat with heather blue eyes

Breezepaw-black tom with amber eyes

Queens:

Gorsetail-very pale gray-and-white she-cat with blue eyes, mother of Thistlekit, Sedgekit, and Swallowkit

Elders:

Morningflower-tortoiseshell queen with amber eyes

Webfoot-dark gray tabby tom

 **RIVERCLAN**

Leader: Leopardstar-unusually spotted golden tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Deputy: Mistyfoot-gray she-cat with blue eyes. Apprentice, Dapplepaw

Medicine Cat: Mothwing-dappled golden she-cat with amber eyes. Apprentice, Willowpaw

Warriors:

Blackclaw-smoky black tom

Whiteclaw-dark tom with one white paw

Voletooth-small brown tabby tom. Apprentice, Minnowpaw

Reedwhisker-black tom with dark gray eyes. Apprentice, Pouncepaw

Mosspelt-tortoiseshell she-cat with blue eyes. Apprentice, Pebblepaw

Beechfur-light brown tom

Rippletail-dark gray tabby tom

Apprentices:

Dapplepaw-mottled, gray she-cat

Willowpaw-dark gray tabby she-cat with bright green eyes

Minnowpaw-dark gray-and-white she-cat with amber eyes

Pouncepaw-ginger-and-white tabby tom

Pebblepaw-mottled, pale gray tom

Queens:

Dawnflower-pale gray she-cat

Graymist-pale gray tabby, mother of Sneezekit and Mallowkit

Icewing-heavily pregnant white cat with blue eyes

Elders:

Swallowtail-dark tabby she-cat with green eyes

Stonestream-gray tom with blue eyes

 **STARCLAN**

Heavystep-thickset tabby tom(Riverclan)

* * *

"Clans of trees, hills, and streams!"

The cats fell silent, and and their gazes turn toward the Thunderclan leader.

"All our apprentices did well today," Firestar declared. "They hunted and fought like true warriors!"

Jubilant mews rose from all the clans.

"I have talked with Leopardstar, Blackstar, and Onestar, and we have decided that the contest is a draw," Firestar went on. "Every clan showed itself to be worthy of Starclan's approval."

"That's not fair!" Owlpaw snarled, the Shadowclan apprentices bunched around him muttering in agreement. "I was the best hunter! Jaypaw and Breezepaw didn't even come back!"

"Hush!" A Shadowclan she-cat silenced him. "Breezepaw almost died!"

Blackstar told Owlpaw, "It's all right; we all know who really won, even if we have to share the victory. You shall have first pick of the prey when we get home."

Leopardstar lifted her voice. "Out of Riverclan's apprentices, Pouncepaw will eat the best fish tonight as a reward for her excellent hunting skills."

"Heatherpaw shall have the fattest rabbit," Onestar called. "She climbed to the top of the Sky Oak!"

"And from Thunderclan," Firestar announced, "Hollypaw may choose first prey from the pile. She fought excellently for such a new apprentice."

The leaders turn to each other and nodded. "There is one apprentice who deserves a special mention above all the others today," Onestar started. "Jaypaw."

"This young Thunderclan apprentice has earned the gratitude of every cat for his courage and quick thinking today."

Firestar joined in. "He saved an apprentice. He nearly suffocated when an old badger set collapsed beneath him. Jaypaw, instead of continuing to complete, stayed to dig him out and saved his life."

Shocked mews turned into cheers.

"This has been a good Gathering," Firestar meowed as the cheering died down. "It has reminded me of the Great Journey, and I think it marks a successful start to the second newleaf in our new home. A lot has changed, but we are still true warriors!"

* * *

 **Now I need a reminder for Heavystep.**


	18. Encounter

Encounter

The full moon floated in a clear blue-black sky. Ahead, the island rose from the lake, its trees lifting brittle branches to the stars. Jaypaw and Hollypaw padded beside each other, following their clanmates along the pebbly shore.

Hollypaw looked at the moon. "It'll be good to see Willowpaw."

Jaypaw twitched his ears. "Willowpaw?"

"She said something interesting about your mentor, Jaypaw. Maybe you would like to hear about it? She's here after all."

Her brother shrugged. He shook his paws, wet. Firestar had led them onto the marshy shore at the edge of Riverclan's territory. Nightshimmer picked her way after him. Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight padded beside Millie and Graystripe while Birchfall and Dustpelt followed, talking quietly. Hazelpaw was listening to her mentor while Berrypaw dodged from side to side, sniffing among the clumps of grass as though any moment he might flush out prey.

"This is _Riverclan_ territory," Hollypaw hissed, reminding him that hunting on another clan's territory was forbidden.

"I know," Berrypaw retorted. "But there's no harm in looking."

"So long as you just _look_."

Graystripe let out a loud purr. "Firestar?" he called. "It sounds like Hollypaw's preparing to challenge you for leadership."

Hollypaw let her jaw drop. "Hey!" She fluffed out her fur indignantly. "I was just telling him!"

Firestar halted among the snaking roots of the fallen tree that crossed the water between the shore and the island. The scents of Windclan and Shadowclan were fresh on the bark; they must be here already they must be here already. Hollypaw pricked his ears. Faint mews drifted from the island. Nightshimmer jumped up nimbly and wove her way between the stumps and knots until she reached the other side. One by one, the others followed.

Hollypaw landed on the soft sand when she heard a yelp. She glanced back to see Berrypaw sliding off the trunk, his cream pelt plummeting toward the black water.

Brackenfur lunged forward and grasped Berrypaw by the scruff. Berrypaw jerked and dangled, his paws churning the air, the tip of his thick, cream tail rippling the surface of the lake.

"Hold still," Brackenfur grunted through clenched teeth. Muscles straining beneath his pelt, the golden warrior heaved Berrypaw up onto the trunk. "I told you not to rush!"

Jaypaw lifted his head, his nose twitching.

"Jaypaw?"

"I can scent Riverclan...but there's something odd..."

Hollypaw was about to ask him when their leader raise his tail.

"Is everyone ready?" Firestar called as Berrypaw, Brackenfur, and finally Ashfur jumped down onto the beach.

The cats nodded. Firestar signaled with his tail, and the party began to head into the trees.

Hollypaw pushed though the bracken, seeing Windclan and Shadowclan already in the clearing. Jaypaw brushed his pelt beside her.

"Hey! Kittypet!"

Whitetail, a Windclan she-cat, was rushing toward Millie. Whitetail's apprentice, Breezepaw, hurried after her, ears flattened. Hollypaw glared at them, ready to defend her clanmate.

"Hi, Millie!" Whitetail rubbed muzzles with Millie and twined her tail with hers as if they were old friends.

She blinked. "Do they know each other?" Hollypaw gasped.

Jaypaw shrugged.

Breezepaw stared wide-eyed as his mentor stepped away from Millie and blinked warmly at her. "Thanks for the rabbit you gave us at the contest," she purred. "You share like a clan cat."

Millie dipped her head. "It was a day for sharing," she meowed.

"It looks like the contest did some good after all," Hollypaw whispered. Before, cats from different clans were ready to shred each other.

But another Windclan warrior, Tornear, was staring at Millie through narrowed eyes. He clearly didn't like the sight of his denmate talking with a kittypet. Russetfur was watching, too, pelt bristling as she leaned forward to whisper something into a clanmate's ear

Breezepaw didn't say anything, just staring at her brother.

"Do you need something?" Jaypaw asked, his tail tip twitching.

"Wha? No, just..." Breezepaw signed and lower his head. "Thank you...for saving me from the fallen den. If you hadn't, I would've died."

"I was only doing what any clan cat would."

Breezepaw lift his muzzle. "I'd think you would make a great warrior, Jaypaw."

The Windclan apprentice left to join the other apprentices. Jaypaw faced the tree bridge. "Riverclan is here," he mewed.

Hollypaw stretched up on tiptoe beside him to watch Riverclan file into the clearing.

Something seemed wrong. Their tails were down and their ears were flat back. Jaypaw's words buzzed in her ears. _There's something odd..._

Hollypaw narrowed her eyes. "Leopardstar doesn't look very happy."

The golden tabby she-cat was touching muzzles with Firestar, but her tail flicked impatiently, her gaze flitting around the clearing.

"Hollypaw!" Willowpaw broke away from her clanmates and hurried to greet Hollypaw. "I can't stay." The Riverclan medicine cat apprentice was out of breath. "I have to join Mothwing. But I just wanted to say hello."

"Is everything okay?" Hollypaw asked. "With your clan, I mean. It's just that you all seem a bit—"

"I'm sorry." Willowpaw turned back to her clanmates.

"Let all the Clans gather beneath Starclan!" Blackstar's loud meow sounded from the Great Oak. The four leaders were lined along the lowest branch, silhouettes in the moonlight, their eyes shining in the dark.

Hollypaw pushed her way in among her clanmates and sat down beside Brackenfur.

"Shadowclan brings happy news," Blackstar announced. "We have three new kits born to Tawnypelt."

Meows of congratulations rose from the crowd, the loudest from Squrrielflight. "Well done, Tawnypelt!"

Blackstar went on. "They are named Flamekit, Dawnkit, and Tigerkit!"

The meows died in the throats of the older warriors at the name Tigerkit. In a distance, Nightshimmer was giving her friend a doubtful, curious look with Jaypaw giving his mentor a thoughtful one. The whispers from the senior warriors was worrying.

"Anything else to report?" Firestar mewed.

Blackstar had tucked his tail over his paws and was looking satisfied. Onestar turned his head from the Thunderclan leader, signaling he had nothing to say.

Firestar nodded. "All has been well with Thunderclan, too." He turned to the Riverclan leader. "Leopardstar? You've shared no news."

"There's no news to share," she meowed curtly. "The fish are returning to the edge of the lake. Hunting is good. My clan is well."

Firestar's ears twitched before replying, "I'm pleased to hear it."

"Then the Gathering is over," Leopardstar declared.

The clans began to pad away from the Great Oak as their leaders bounded down from the low branch. Hollypaw shook her pelt, feeling cold from all the worry.

Hazelpaw nudged her with her muzzle. "Three new Shadowclan cats!" she mewed. "We're going to have to train harder than ever!" She began to follow her clanmates across the clearing. Jaypaw followed his mentor right ahead of her.

Hollypaw walked quickly and pressed against Jaypaw, she couldn't help but to bristle. "Do you think we'll ever have to fight them?" she whispered anxiously.

"Let's not talk about fighting now." Squirrelflight had joined them and overheard. "Three kits are a blessing to any clan." She was clearly pleased at Tawnypelt's news.

Leafpool caught up. "I noticed Tawnypelt was expecting last time I saw her."

Squirrelflight looked surprised. "You never mentioned it."

"It was not for me to say when it still lay in the paws of Starclan," Leafpool answered.

"Besides, it was none of your business!" A gruff mew startled the cats.

Hollypaw turned to see Rowanclaw, a ginger Shadowclan warrior, staring at them with narrowed eyes. _He must be the father._

Squirrelflight returned his gaze. "Congratulations, Rowanclaw. You are blessed to have three healthy kits."

Rowanclaw curled his lip. "Three healthy _clanborn_ kits," he growled.

"That is only a blessing if they remain loyal to the clan they were born to," Squirrelflight pointed out sharply, letting her temper flare.

Rowanclaw let out a low growl.

"He was only speaking the truth."

 _Breezepaw?_ The Windclan apprentice was standing beside his father.

Crowfeather was staring at Leafpool, his eyes glittering. "Don't forget, Breezepaw, Thunderclan actually _celebrates_ mixed blood."

Leafpool jerked her head backward as though Crowfeather had raked his claws across her muzzle. She turned quickly and hurried away. Hollypaw stared at her aunt, wondering what could have caused that reaction. She turned back to see Breezepaw looking at his father with slitted eyes. The black tom darted away from his father and slowed next to Heatherpaw.

Hollypaw felt a nudge from her frank. "Hurry up, Hollypaw. The clan won't be waiting," Squrrielflight mewed.


	19. Offer

Offer

Hollypaw was dreaming. She was charging through the forest as rain pounded the leaf-strewn earth. She could glimpse Willowpaw's striped pelt through the trees. The Riverclan medicine cat apprentice was running fast, always a few steps ahead.

"Wait for me!" Hollypaw called. "There's something I want to ask you."

"I'll tell you if you catch up!" Willowpaw called back.

Hollypaw pushed harder, her paws skidding on the mud, but Willowpaw stayed a tail-length out of reach.

"There's something wrong with Riverclan, isn't there?" Hollypaw yowled.

"I can't hear you. The rain's too loud."

"Tell me what's wrong!"

The rain pelted down more fiercely, rattling against the leaves and bouncing off the ground.

"Willowpaw!"

"I can't tell you unless you catch me!"

"Slow down!" Hollypaw narrowed her eyes against the downpour. "Willowpaw?"

Willowpaw had disappeared and she was alone in the drenched forest.

"Hollypaw?" came a familiar mew.

The apprentice spun, almost smacking her tail in Silver Eye's muzzle. The blind cat looked at her before staring into the distance.

"So, it's about time huh?" murmured the black-and-white cat.

Hollypaw sputtered. "W-what? What is going on?"

"A lot, but what you want to know right now is what's going on in Riverclan, correct?"

"Do you know?" the black cat asked hopefully.

The older cat gave her a stern look. "I do, but secrets of other clans are not to be revealed by outsiders."

"I...I have to wait until the next Gathering?"

Silver Eye nodded. "But if you wish, we can start training on your ability."

"Really?"

"Yes!"

"And we will start tomorrow night. Oh, and it's wet outside."

Hollypaw blinked open her eyes. Rain was battering the den roof, finding its way through the thick foliage of the yew branches and dripping into the nests. Hollypaw shivered and snuggled deeper into the moss.

One mouse. Two mouse. Three mouse.

Hollypaw groaned. Dawn light was filtering through the branches. She yawned and stretched, her tail shivering with the effort. She would have been colder if she weren't sleeping between her brothers, both dry and warm. Mousepaw, Berrypaw, and Honeypaw were asleep despite the rain. Poppypaw's and Hazelpaw's nests were empty but their scent was fresh; they must have gone out with the dawn patrol.

"Hollypaw?" Cinderpaw lifted her head and blinked open her eyes. "Did the rain wake you?"

"No, I...kinda woke up on my own," Hollypaw mewed. _Why did she wake me so early?_

Cinderpaw's belly began to rumble. "I wonder if there's any fresh-kill on the pile yet?"

"There may be some left over from last night," Hollypaw suggested. "Let's go and see."

She picked her way among the warm bodies of her sleeping clanmates and peered out of the entrance. She could hardly see the fresh-kill pile. The dawn sky was dark with clouds and the rain was so heavy that mud danced over the clearing.

Cinderpaw squeezed up beside her. "Let's make a dash for it."

"Okay." Hollypaw screwed up her eyes and darted out of the den.

Stormfur and Brook crouched beneath Highledge, sharing a soggy robin beneath the sheltering overhang.

"This weather's too wet even for Riverclan!" Stormfur called in greeting.

Hollypaw paused, blinking the rain from her eyes. "Now I know how fish feel!"

Cinderpaw scooted past her.

"Don't sit there like a startled rabbit, Hollypaw," Brook urged. "Find shelter!"

Hollypaw hurried after Cinderpaw and sent up a spray of mucky water as she skidded to a halt by the fresh-kill pile. A few sodden pieces of prey lay plastered in mud. She picked up a sorry-looking mouse and carried it to the shelter of the brambles that crowded one side of the medicine den.

"Yuck!" Cinderpaw dropped a dripping wren on the ground and shook herself. Hollypaw flattened her ears as the spray showered her.

"Sorry." Cinderpaw crouched and took a bite of her wren. "This tastes like mud!" she mewed with her mouth full.

At the entrance to the medicine den, the dripping brambles shivered and Leafpool hurried out, her jaws clutching a bundle of herbs. She dashed across the clearing and disappeared into the nursery.

"I hope Icekit and Foxkit are okay," Hollypaw mewed.

"Daisy was sneezing last night," Cinderpaw told her. "I think she has a cold."

Hollypaw peered up through the brambles at the gray sky. "We'll all have colds if this rain doesn't stop soon. That, or webbed feet." It had been nearly a half-moon since the Gathering, and it seemed to have rained every day.

The rest of the camp was beginning to stir. Thornclaw yawned as he padded around the clearing followed by Dustpelt. As Hollypaw swallowed the last mouthfuls of cold mouse, Firestar emerged from his cave on Highledge and surveyed the camp. Brambleclaw darted from the warriors' den and bounded up the rockfall to meet him. The two warriors vanished into Firestar's cave, their tails low against the rain that hurled against the cliff.

Mousefur peered out from the honeysuckle-draped bush that formed the elders' den, before disappearing back inside with a snort of disgust. Graystripe padded from behind the warriors' den, where he shared a makeshift den with Millie. His thick gray pelt was plastered against his body. He picked two birds from the fresh-kill pile and hurried back to his nest.

Brackenfur emerged from the warriors' den and stretched, arching his tail and reaching out with his forepaws until his chest touched the ground. Then he straightened and shook himself, fluffing out his golden fur. "Hollypaw?" He peered toward her through narrowed eyes, rain streaming from his whiskers. "Is that you?"

Hollypaw padded out from the shelter of the brambles. "I was just eating with Cinderpaw," she greeted him.

"Well, if you've got a full belly, you can come hunting with me."

Hollypaw felt a surge of delight. Hunting would warm her up. "Can Cinderpaw come too?" she asked.

Cinderpaw shook her head. "Cloudtail asked me to clean out the elders' bedding this morning."

"I'll bring you back a warm mouse if I can," Hollypaw promised.

"One without mud, please," Cinderpaw purred.

"Come on, Hollypaw." Brackenfur was already racing for the camp entrance.

Outside, the forest floor was soaked, the dead leaves slimy and rotten underpaw, but Hollypaw soon began to feel warm as she chased Brackenfur up the steep slope and they headed into the forest. The rain was beginning to ease and for the first time that morning she opened her eyes wide. The trees ahead were thickening and the forest darkened where pines began to grow among the leafless trees. Shadowclan territory lay this way.

Hollypaw thought of the new kittens—her kin—in the camp beyond the border. If they shared her blood, would they share her scent as well? Was it blood or clan that decided scent? How would they tell whose marker was whose?

"Brackenfur?"

Brackenfur skidded on the wet leaves and turned to face her, his eyes bright. "Do you smell prey?" he asked hopefully.

Hollypaw shook her head. "I was just wondering . . . " She searched for the words to explain the unease that was nagging her.

"Yes?"

"Well, I was wondering . . . "

Brackenfur shook the rain from his whiskers. "What is it, for Starclan's sake?"

"Of course, if they threaten your clan." Brackenfur turned away and started padding through the forest once more, his nose twitching as he hunted for scent among the wet undergrowth.

Hollypaw hurried to keep up with him. "But what if my clan threatens them and I don't think it's fair?"

"Why should we do that?" Brackenfur's ears pricked and he dropped into a hunting crouch.

"But just say we did? Shouldn't I feel some loyalty to kin?"

"A true warrior is loyal to her clan above everything." Brackenfur began to knead the ground with his hind paws; he had spotted something ahead and was preparing to pounce. But Hollypaw's mind was hungrier than her belly.

"You can't hurt cats that share your blood," she argued. "Does that mean there are more important things than the warrior code?" She blinked in alarm. "If that's true, then how do we know what's right—"

"Hush!" Brackenfur's hiss silenced her as a leaf trembled a fox-length away and a small brown shape shot away into the safety of its burrow.

Brackenfur sat up and stared crossly at his apprentice. "Why don't you stop thinking about the warrior code and start following it? Your clan is hungry and wet. You should be concentrating on feeding them, not on deciding what's wrong and what's right!"

Hollypaw's tail drooped. He was right. She had scared off prey that could have fed her clanmates. "I'm sorry," she murmured.

"Now stop asking questions and find something to take back to camp!"

-That night-

Hollypaw opened her eyes to the white floor of the Inbetween. Silver Eye was laying on the grass, eyes closed. Her black tipped ears shriveled towards Hollypaw as soon as she took the first step and got to her paws.

"You ready?"

"I am."

"First—" Silver Eye lifted her tail and the scenery changed to a normal forest. "—focus on what you can feel and extend, but don't lose yourself."

Hollypaw gave her a disbelieving look. "I can lose myself with my ability?"

Silver Eye's eyes narrowed. "It is possible, which is why you have training."

Hollypaw closed her eyes and focused. "There's...so many I can feel. Uh, annoyance about wet prey, worry about the rain, and...a bond in the clan with a bit of turmoil? Wait, is this...Thunderclan?"

"Close for your first try but no, it's all the clans. Now, focus on yourself."

"Okay?" She felt herself, her emotions in turmoil about the warrior code, her kin in Shadowclan and her friendship in Riverclan.

"Remember who you are for who you truly are, not what others define you including from yourself, Hollypaw. That is the most important thing."


	20. Code?

Code?

Hollypaw yawned and stretched in the den entrance. The early morning sun felt warm on her paws. She looked over her shoulder. Cinderpaw was already at the fresh-kill pile.

"Anything there?" Hollypaw called to her friend.

"Only a mouse." Cinderpaw pawed it uncertainly. "A bit stale, but not too bad."

Hollypaw padded toward her. "Perhaps we should see if Daisy wants it for the kits first."

"No, thank you!" Daisy was sunning herself outside the nursery while Ferncloud's kits tumbled around her. "They can wait for the dawn patrol to return and have something warm and fresh."

"I don't mind eating a stale mouse!" Foxkit offered.

"No," Daisy mewed, "you've got a cold. Only warm food for you."

"But I'm hungry!"

"Greedy, more like!" Icekit teased. The fluffy white kit cuffed her brother around his ear. He turned on her at once and pounced. She squealed and pummeled him with her hind legs.

Daisy moved her tail out of the way as they rolled past her. "It'll be a relief when they move into the apprentices' den," she mewed. Hollypaw knew that she didn't mean it. Ferncloud would move back to the warriors' den, and Daisy would be alone in the empty nursery. She'd always made it clear she wasn't cut out to be a warrior but, without kits to nurse, what would she be? Hopefully the spring would bring a new litter.

"Hollypaw! Cinderpaw!" Leafpool was looking out from the elders' den. "Come and clean out the bedding in here."

"I'll get fresh moss!" Hollypaw knew that Leafpool kept a fresh stock beside the medicine den. She raced to grab a wad of it, then carried it to the elders' den.

The honeysuckle that trailed over the elder bush where Mousefur slept was bright with new leaf. Fresh tendrils swayed in the light breeze. Buds were forming that would flower come greenleaf and fill the hollow with a wonderful smell. Hollypaw ducked inside and dropped the moss. Cinderpaw was already busy scrabbling through the bedding, bundling out stale bits.

Leafpool looked up from where she was crouched at Mousefur's side. "You're doing much better, Mousefur." The tangy aroma of herbs filled the den. "But I want the bedding freshened up so she won't get sick from an infection."

"Okay." Hollypaw nodded.

Mousefur sat up stiffly. "Good to see newleaf again. Plenty of prey. Must be nice to go out."

"Maybe Daisy and Swiftfoot can go with you. Someone needs to look out for foxes."

"Foxes!" Hollypaw tucked her tail close to her.

"Foxes and badgers! They're both terrifying!" Cinderpaw mewed, the fur along her spine rippled.

Hollypaw reached out and tugged some stale moss from beside Mousefur, remembering from Squrrielflight that Cinderpaw's aunt had died from the badger attack while her mother was kitting.

Firestar's call sounded from outside the den. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Highledge."

"A clan meeting?" Mousefur narrowed her eyes. "I hope everything's okay." She got slowly to her paws. Hollypaw glanced at Cinderpaw, excitement fluttering in her chest. Had something happened? She darted out of the den ahead of the others and saw Firestar leaping down the tumble of rocks from Highledge.

The fresh-kill pile was well stocked. "The dawn patrol's back," Hollypaw whispered to Cinderpaw as her friend caught up. "Perhaps they've brought news."

Stormfur and Brook settled at the edge of the clearing. Graystripe and Millie padded out from behind the warriors' den. Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight sat down in the shadow of Highledge while Lionpaw padded after Ashfur and settled beside his mentor. Daisy stayed by the nursery, whisking Icekit and Foxkit back with her tail as they tried to see what was happening.

Once the clan had settled, Firestar sat down in the center of the clearing. He gazed around, his eyes shining.

"Doesn't look like anything bad," Hollypaw murmured to Cinderpaw.

"There is something I've wanted to do for a while," Firestar began. "And now that newleaf is here it seems like a good time for new beginnings."

Hollypaw leaned forward excitedly.

"It is time Millie became a Thunderclan warrior!"

Hollypaw froze. Millie had been a kittypet when Graystripe had met her. He'd given her some warrior training and she'd helped him on the long journey back to his Clan. But did that make her a warrior? Hollypaw didn't even know if Millie believed in Starclan.

Mews of approval rippled around the edge of the clearing.

"About time!" Whitewing called.

Birchfall kneaded the ground. "She has the heart of a warrior!"

Hollypaw stared at them in surprise. Surely it wasn't that simple? The daylight Gathering had helped to smooth the ruffled fur of the other clans, but making a kittypet a warrior? Wouldn't that stir up hostility again? Millie was a good hunter and had proved her bravery and loyalty in battle, but to make her a Thunderclan warrior...

"Millie." Firestar beckoned the striped gray tabby.

She stepped forward, chin high. Hollypaw couldn't help admiring her. And yet she had never trained as an apprentice. How could she possibly have a warrior name? Hollypaw felt her chest tighten with anxiety.

"You have fought bravely in battle," Firestar meowed. "You have made sure the Clan has been fed through a bitter leafbare. No cat here doubts your loyalty or your skill. You have earned the warrior name I give you." He paused for a moment. "From this day on you shall be known as—"

"Wait!"

Mews of surprise rippled among the clan as Millie interrupted Firestar.

She gazed steadily around the cats, her blue eyes glowing. "I'm privileged to be considered a Thunderclan warrior," she meowed. "I could ask for no greater honor. And I am grateful to Graystripe for rescuing me from my life as a kittypet." She blinked warmly at her mate. "If I'd stayed my whole life as a Twoleg companion, it would have been only half a life. But—"

Graystripe stepped forward. "Millie?" His eyes were clouded with anxiety. "You're not going to leave, are you?"

"Never." Millie padded toward him and brushed her muzzle against his. Then she turned back to Firestar. "You can rely on my loyalty until the day I join Starclan, and you must believe that I will live and die to protect Thunderclan. But I don't want to change my name. I have always been Millie, and I see no shame in it."

A shocked silence gripped the clan. Ashfur flicked his tail. Sandstorm narrowed her eyes, studying the former kittypet. Brambleclaw's whiskers twitched.

Graystripe lifted his chin. "Millie is right. It doesn't matter what she's called. It only matters how she acts, and I know that she will always put the clan first."

Hollypaw watched Firestar, wondering what he would do. The Thunderclan leader shifted his paws uneasily, glancing from Graystripe to Millie.

Suddenly, another mew sounded. "May I speak?"

Hollypaw spun around. Daisy was padding forward. The cream-colored queen slid between Spiderleg and Birchfall and stepped into the center of the clearing. Hollypaw pricked her ears. Daisy had never spoken at a clan meeting before.

"I am glad Millie has chosen to keep her name," the she-cat began. Her soft mew trembled a little. "I am no warrior, but I am a Thunderclan cat. I stay in the nursery rather than hunt and fight because that is what I do best. I care for our young as though each kit were my own. This is my gift to the clan, but I do it in my own chosen name."

"She is right!" Brook stepped forward. "My loyalty lies with Thunderclan, but I would never give up the name given to me by the Tribe."

Stormfur padded forward and ran his tail along his mate's flank. "Is there any cat here who would not trust Millie or Daisy or Brook to fight on their side?" He stared challengingly around the clan.

"No!" Graystripe led the call and Brambleclaw, Cloudtail, Whitewing, and the others quickly took it up. Daisy's kits, Berrypaw, Hazelpaw, and Mousepaw cheered loudest of all.

Hollypaw watched uneasily.

Suddenly, Thornclaw's mew rose above the others. "Stop! What would the other clans say if they could see us now?"

Dustpelt nodded. "Shadowclan has already tried to take territory from us because we are no longer a pure forest-born clan."

"Ironic, since Border of Shadowclan keep his rogue name." A cat mutter next to her.

Hollypaw turned, taking a clear view of the scar from the badger attack around Nightshimmer's left eye. Except it didn't look like a badger would make such a scar.

"Naming ceremonies are part of the warrior code. Can we ignore them and still keep the respect of the other clans?" The black apprentice focus back on the meeting, with Spiderleg narrowing his eyes.

Hollypaw swept her tail over the ground. Dustpelt and Spiderleg were right. Millie, Daisy, and Brook were important to the clan, but unless they accepted all the customs of the clan, how could they truly be part of it?

Firestar's eyes flashed. "Silence!" he snapped. "Don't forget you're talking about your clanmates! I invited Daisy, Brook, and Millie to join Thunderclan because they make us stronger." He glared around the clearing. "You are happy to eat their fresh-kill and to have them fight beside you. Do you want me to throw them out because they have the wrong names? Do you want the other clans to tell us what to do?"

"Of course not!" Graystripe meowed.

"Millie and Brook are warriors already," Brambleclaw put in. "Names make no difference."

 _That's not true!_ Hollypaw dug her claws into the earth. They had not had proper naming ceremonies; the clan was ignoring a ritual that had been followed for countless moons. What would Starclan think? _We must live by the warrior code!_ She stared at Thornclaw, willing him to speak, but he only dipped his head to their leader.

Firestar blinked at him and turned once more to Millie. "You may keep your name. We have seen your courage in battle and your skill at hunting. You are Thunderclan now. May Starclan recognize you as a true warrior."

"Thunderclan! Thunderclan!" Birchfall began the chant and the others quickly joined in. Hollypaw watched in silence, noticing Dustpelt and Thornclaw exchange anxious glances.

"Don't you feel like cheering?" Squirrelflight had weaved her way to Hollypaw's side.

Hollypaw's whiskers quivered. "What if StarClan doesn't recognize her as a true warrior?"

"Do you really think StarClan is narrow-minded?" Squirrelflight murmured.

"We have the warrior code for a reason and this goes against it." Hollypaw's fur rippled along her spine. "Brambleclaw should have spoken out. He knows how important it is to follow the code."

Squirrelflight smoothed Hollypaw's fur with her tail. "Brambleclaw is clan deputy. He must support Firestar." Her green eyes glittered. "And don't forget that Firestar was a kittypet once."

"But he still took a warrior name!" Hollypaw mewed hotly. "He followed the warrior path and trained as an apprentice." The cheers were dying away as the cats began to return to their duties. _He never tried to change the warrior code!_

"Hollypaw!"


	21. Subtle Signs

Subtle Signs

"Hollypaw!"

Brackenfur's mew jerked her from her thoughts. He was standing beside Cloudtail and Spiderleg. Their apprentices, Cinderpaw and Mousepaw, were pacing back and forth.

"It's time we assessed your progress," Brackenfur told her. "I want you, Cinderpaw, and Mousepaw to go hunting. Catch as much prey as you can."

Squirrelflight's eyes glowed. "An assessment already?"

Hollypaw forgot her unease, excitement pulsing through her pelt. At last she would have a chance to show everything she had learned.

Brackenfur flicked his tail. "Don't forget I'll be watching, out of sight."

"Good luck!"

As Squirrelflight padded away, nerves fluttered in Hollypaw's belly. What if she let Brackenfur down? _No!_ She wouldn't let that happen.

Mousepaw and Cinderpaw hurried to join her.

"I don't know who I want to impress more—Cloudtail or Brackenfur!" Cinderpaw glanced anxiously at the two warriors. Brackenfur was her father.

"I'm going to show Spiderleg that I really can catch a squirrel," Mousepaw vowed.

"You may as well start now." Cloudtail padded over. "You must each hunt alone. We'll be keeping an eye on you, so do your best."

"Of course we will!" Hollypaw promised.

Cinderpaw shot away, Mousepaw hurrying after her. Hollypaw caught up with them as they raced through the thorn tunnel, each pushing to be first out. Hollypaw had never hunted alone before. Her whiskers twitched with anticipation.

"Where are you going to hunt?" she asked as they burst out of the camp.

"I'm hunting by the stream near the Shadowclan border," Cinderpaw announced. "There's always prey there."

"It's a bit open, isn't it?" Hollypaw mewed.

"I'm good at jumping," Cinderpaw reminded her. "Even in the open, the prey won't see me coming till it's too late."

"I think I'll stick to the undergrowth," Hollypaw decided. "I prefer stalking my prey." She glanced at Mousepaw. "What about you?"

"I'm with you," he announced. "Undergrowth is easier. But once I've caught a couple of mice, I'm going to get a squirrel."

"Come on, then!" Cinderpaw charged up the slope away from the camp.

Hollypaw and Mousepaw sped after her, leaves fluttering in their wake. As they neared the stream, Cinderpaw veered away toward the bank. Hollypaw headed for a small dip where the ferns grew thickly, and Mousepaw bounded away in the other direction.

Hollypaw halted at the edge of the dip. Steadying her breath, she dropped into a hunting crouch and crept down the slope. She wound her way through the thick fern stems, careful not to set any of them rustling. _Is Brackenfur watching me already?_ she wondered as she drew herself forward, one slow paw step at a time. _Don't think about that. Concentrate on the hunt._

She focused her senses on the foliage ahead, opening her mouth slightly to taste the breeze. Rabbit scent hung stale in the air, but the smell of mouse was fresh. _Good!_ She halted and pricked her ears. The ferns were shivering up ahead. Narrowing her eyes she peered through the lush stalks and saw a small brown shape dart across over the leafy earth. A shrew! It began rooting among the leaf litter.

She crept closer.

The shrew stiffened.

 _Mouse dung!_ Her tail had brushed against a leaf.

The shrew glanced around.

 _Don't move!_ Hollypaw held her breath and pressed her tail to the ground.

The shrew began rummaging again.

 _Good! It's busy looking for food._

Moving as slowly as a snail, Hollypaw drew herself forward. The shrew went on rummaging. One more paw step!

A twig cracked beneath her paw. The shrew darted away. Hollypaw sprung and shot out her forepaws, catching the shrew in her claws before it had time to escape. One quick nip to the back of the neck and it was dead. Heart pounding, she carried it to the roots of a beech and buried it quickly before turning back for her next catch.

Before long she had caught another shrew and a mouse. As she safely buried the last of her catch beneath the beech, she saw golden fur flash among the brambles at the top of the slope. How long had Brackenfur been watching her? She hoped he was impressed.

Ferns rustled and Mousepaw exploded from the woods behind her.

"I've caught my two mice," the gray-and-white tom declared. "Now for that squirrel!"

"Shh!" Hollypaw snapped. "You'll scare the prey away!"

"Sorry." Mousepaw flicked his tail. "Are you still hunting?"

"I think I've got enough," Hollypaw conceded.

"Any sign of Cinderpaw?" Mousepaw asked. "I hope she's done okay."

"I've done fine!" Cinderpaw emerged from the ferns, four water voles dangling by their tails from her jaws. She dropped them next to Hollypaw. "Can I bury them with yours?"

"Won't they get mixed up?"

"Cloudtail already knows what I caught."

"Have you spoken to him?" Hollypaw was surprised. Mentors weren't meant to help in an assessment.

"Of course not," Cinderpaw assured her. "But I could see him watching the whole time. It's hard to hide in anything but snow with a pelt as white as his." She purred with amusement.

"Mousepaw's still determined to catch a squirrel," Hollypaw told her.

"Really?" Cinderpaw stared at the gray-and-white tom in surprise. "Didn't you get enough mice?"

"I got plenty," Mousepaw mewed indignantly. "I just want to show Spiderleg I can catch squirrels, too."

"There are usually some upstream," Hollypaw suggested.

"I think I'll climb the Sky Oak," Mousepaw announced.

"No way!" Cinderpaw looked amazed. "It's the tallest tree in the forest!"

"There'll be squirrels in other trees," Hollypaw cautioned. Mousepaw was Daisy's kit, born outside the clan, and keen to impress his clanmates. But surely after the latest clan meeting, he shouldn't feel he had anything to prove.

"I'm going to climb the Sky Oak!" Mousepaw insisted. "I've been practicing and I want Spiderleg to see how good I am now."

"Wow," Cinderpaw breathed, "that's brave!"

"Come on." Mousepaw darted among the trees. Cinderpaw, kicking up leaves, scooted after him. Hollypaw glanced once more at the beech to make sure she would remember where she had buried her catch, and raced after them.

At the base of the Sky Oak, Hollypaw gazed up through the branches. The trunk seemed to stretch up forever, the blue sky glinting between the bright green leaves. Mousepaw was staring up too, and Hollypaw felt sure she saw his tail tremble.

"You're scared," Cinderpaw teased.

Hollypaw dug her claws into the earth. _Don't dare him into doing something he doesn't want to do. But he's so determined._ "Why not just catch a few more mice instead?" she suggested. "There'll be plenty around here."

The fur along Mousepaw's spine was spiked like a hedgehog. "No. I'm going to catch a squirrel," he muttered insistently. He sprang up and stretched out his forelegs to grip the wide trunk with his claws. Dragging himself upward, he managed to clamber onto the lowest branch. "There!" he called. "Easy." He looked up, searching for his next perch.

Hollypaw suddenly heard paws pounding toward them.

"Mousepaw!" Brackenfur hurtled out of the trees. He was panting and his eyes were wide with alarm. "Get down!"

Spiderleg skidded after him. "Leave him alone!" he snapped at Brackenfur. "If he wants to do it, let him!"

Cloudtail padded out from the trees. "I thought we weren't meant to help—" He stopped when he spotted Mousepaw scrambling up to the next branch.

"I really think you should tell him to come down," Brackenfur advised.

"Are you saying my apprentice isn't good enough?" Spiderleg flattened his ears.

"He's still young," Brackenfur argued. "I wouldn't let Hollypaw climb it."

"Hollypaw's not been training as long as Mousepaw," Spiderleg pointed out.

"Look, it's easy!" Mousepaw called. The branches were close together now and he was leaping nimbly upward.

"Not too high," Spiderleg cautioned. Even he was beginning to look worried as Mousepaw hopped from branch to branch.

A silver dabbled tabby padded to them carrying a shrew. "What is with all the shrieking? You're going to scare all the prey away—oh." Silveryflight dropped his only catch and called out. "Watch out for the weak branches, Mousepaw!"

Leaves rustled just above him. A squirrel was scrambling up the tree.

Mousepaw darted after it. Hollypaw's neck began to ache from looking up. She could see leaves shivering far above as the squirrel kept climbing, staying just a few tail-lengths ahead of Mousepaw, almost as if it were enticing him upward.

 _Be careful, Mousepaw!_

Suddenly, the squirrel leaped out of the Sky Oak and landed in the tree next to it, sending twigs showering down.

Mousepaw froze.

He was so far away he looked the size of a mouse. But even from this distance, Hollypaw could see that his fur was bushed out from nose to tail-tip. The gray-and-white apprentice was terrified.

"Good try. You may as well come down," Spiderleg called encouragingly.

"I can't!" Mousepaw's mew came out as a squeak. "I'm stuck!"

Brackenfur sighed. "What are we going to do now?"

"I could go up after him," Cloudtail offered. Every cat knew he was one of the best climbers in the clan.

"He's not going to get down by himself," Spiderleg agreed.

"I'll fetch him!" mewed Cinderpaw.

"Wait!" Hollypaw yelped as the gray apprentice began to scramble up the tree trunk.

"Get down at once!" Brackenfur hissed at his daughter.

Cinderpaw paused on the lowest branch. "But I can see an easy route to get him down," she argued.

Cloudtail exchanged worried glances with Brackenfur.

"I'll go slowly," Cinderpaw promised when they didn't say anything. "And if I feel like I'm getting too high, I'll stop."

Brackenfur nodded. "Okay, but be careful."

Cautiously, Cinderpaw began to climb the tree, taking her time between jumps, making sure that she only reached up a little at a time. Hollypaw watched, her mouth dry. _She'll be all right_ , she told herself again and again.

She felt Brackenfur trembling beside her. He was watching Cinderpaw with round, frightened eyes.

"She's nearly reached him," Cloudtail reported.

Cinderpaw was only a few branches from her denmate now. Mousepaw was watching her, his fur slowly flattening.

"It's okay, Mousepaw," Cinderpaw called up to him. "There's nothing to be frightened of."

Hollypaw held her breath as Cinderpaw began to guide Mousepaw down, one branch at a time.

"That's it," Cinderpaw mewed. "The next branch is really close. Just make sure you grip with your claws and you'll be fine."

The two cats were easier to see now, getting closer and closer to safety with every uneasy jump.

 _They're going to make it!_

Suddenly, a bird shrieked and flapped out of the tree just below them. Mousepaw squealed in shock and slipped from the branch.

Quick as a flash, Cinderpaw lunged forward and reached for him. She caught him and hauled him back onto the branch, her hind legs scrabbling for a hold. Mousepaw grabbed at the branch and clung to the bark, his tail lashing in panic.

A silver-white pelt flew pass her and quickly climbed the tree trunk. Then she saw Cinderpaw wobble. The gray tabby's hind paws were slipping over the back of the branch. Her forepaws churned desperately at the air. With a yelp she slid over the edge and fell. Silveryflight managed to grab her by the scruff on one of the lower, thinner branches. The branch wobbled from the weight of the fall.

 _Thank Starclan!_

Crack!

 _Oh no..._

The branch broke part way, tilting to the ground. Silveryflight ran and threw Cinderpaw to one of the other branches. The gray apprentice grabbed hold, clawing to a better hold of the branch.

"Move out of the way!" Brackenfur yowled as the branch snapped from the tree. The warriors and Hollypaw ran, away from the falling branch and cat. Two heavy thuds sounded the forest.

"Silveryflight?" Spiderleg mewed, padding to elder warrior.

The dappled tabby groaned, rolling. "My shoulder hurts."

"We should have Leafpool take a look at it," Brackenfur mewed. "Hollypaw help Silveryflight back to camp. Cloudtail, Spiderleg and I will help Cinderpaw and Mousepaw down."

Hollypaw nodded and nudged the injured warrior.


	22. Well Meaning

Well Meaning

Leafpool returned from her storage and dropped the herbs. Hollypaw easily recognized the honey covering some of the herbs, something the medicine cat would sometimes bring when she and her brothers were kits.

The brown tabby pushed the honey-coated herbs to the warrior. "Swallow these raspberry leaves. They'll help ease the pain."

Silveryflight grunted and swallowed the leaves covered in honey; resting in the nest. Hollypaw watched, sitting next to Leafpool. The medicine cat touched the shoulder gently with her paw.

"You dislocated your shoulder. I'll have to move it back in place, but it will be painful. Hollypaw, help me chew the comfrey roots into a poultice."

Hollypaw stared at the roots on a leaf and swallowed. "Do I just chew them?"

Leafpool nodded. "Yes. You can spat it out on the leaf."

Hollypaw took the roots and chewed, almost gagging at the tangy taste.

"Silveryflight, on the count of three, it will be back in place."

The silver tabby nodded, taking the stick in his mouth. Leafpool placed her paw on the shoulder.

"Three, two, one."

Silveryflight hissed in pain as his shoulder slided quickly into it's correct spot, like it had clicked back.

Leafpool poked and podded the rest of his body. "You'll have to rest until your shoulder heals. No hunting and fighting for you. Don't put too much weight on your shoulder. Other than that, you seem fine. Hollypaw, is the poultice ready yet?"

The black apprentice spat out the poultice. "Is this good enough?"

Leafpool looked at it and rubbed the poultice on Silveryflight's shoulder. "It is. Thank you, Hollypaw. You've been a great help."

"How is he?"

A pale she-cat stood at the entrance. _Dewyfern?_ _They're not even close._

"Silveryflight just had a dislocated shoulder, but it is back into place. As long as he stays off that shoulder, he should be fine."

"Why isn't Nightshimmer here? I thought they were close?" Hollypaw blurted out before closing her mouth tightly.

"She's on border patrol with Jaypaw, Redstrike, and Longtail," Dewyfern answered, her tail lashed in annoyance. "At least you're not badly hurt, Silveryflight."

The silver-white tom glanced at her, lowering his head. Hollypaw quickly felt the somewhat lack of emotions between the two cats, the two _barely_ acquaintances.

"You two need to go outside," Leafpool mewed, pushing a poppy seed to the dappled tabby. "Silveryflight just had an injury and needs some rest."

Dewyfern padded out of the den.

Hollypaw squinted. The silver tabby looked transparent in the dim light.

Leafpool nudged her side. "You too Hollypaw."

-Sunset-

Hollypaw rolled in the moss, dodging a paw. Brackenfur was about to go after her and stopped, looking at the sky. "That's enough for the day and well done, Hollypaw. Your defenses are better than before."

Hollypaw huffed, pride filling her. Silver Eye's training with her ability allowed her to barely sense what her mentor was intending, by his emotions.

"We should be going back to camp now. It is almost night."

"Yes, Brackenfur." The black apprentice glanced up, the sun setting over the horizon.

-Camp-

Hollypaw pushed though the vines after finishing her finch. The silver tabby still rested in his nest, though awake.

"Does your shoulder still hurt, Silveryflight?"

"It feels numb, but can we be quiet? Nightshimmer's sleeping right next to me," the tom mewed in a low voice.

Hollypaw let her eyes adjust to the dark, seeing the she-cat's black fur behind him. _How did she not notice her? Maybe with both Brackenfur and Silver Eye training her at the same time, her senses were tired? Or-_

"You want to ask something?" Silveryflight mewed, interrupting her thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, um..." _This is awkward. He's a senior warrior, so it shouldn't matter what he is-_ "I can?"

"Since I'm stuck here either way for about a couple days, ask away little Hollypaw."

"A couple days? Shouldn't a dislocated shoulder take a couple moons to heal?"

"I have always been a fast healer."

"Then...What are you?"

"What does my presence tell you?"

"Presence?"

Silveryflight's ear twitched, glancing at Nightshimmer. "Never mind about that. Say, what can you sense right now? About me that is."

Silver Eye had only start the training last night, so there wasn't much she could do. Hollypaw closed her eyes, focusing. Emotions, but felt like a part of something, a being.

Hollypaw opened her eyes, astonished. "Are you dead?"

Silveryflight let a laugh. "No, I have always been alive."

"Oh...then, uh, what do you think of the warrior code?"

"The code? Well, it's a well-made code that helps make the clans a clan and the warriors a warrior. Though there have been exceptions."

"Exceptions? Are they bad?"

"Not always. It has always depend on what kind of exceptions they are. Like the naming ceremony earlier today."

Remembering about her kin in Shadowclan, Hollypaw couldn't help but to ask it. "What if you have to hurt your own kin from another clan?"

Silveryflight narrowed his green eyes. "You should ask your father about it, not me. I don't know anything about this kind of stuff. If you're going to ask questions, try to ask someone who would have a good chance of knowing about. No adults know everything after all."

Hollypaw flatten her ears. "Oh, I'm sorry."

The tom signed. "No need for any of that. But if you have an existential crisis, you might want to ask Mistyfoot of Riverclan. She has a mother from Thunderclan and look at her. She is loyal to her clan."

But my parents are Squrrielflight and Brambleclaw?" Hollypaw asked, confused.

Silveryflight's mouth twitched. "You'll know why someday. That reminds me. Can you go out now? It is nighttime and there'll be a new day tomorrow. Nightshimmer asked me for a favor after all." The tom gave her a playful wink.

The apprentice nodded and turned away. As soon as she left the den, Hollypaw heard a loud yelp behind.

"What was that for?!"

"My favorite way to wake you up," the silver tabby answered in a jolly way. "You did ask me to wake you up for guarding duty."

There was a groan and Nightshimmer left the den with an annoyed look before heading to the tunnel.


	23. Riverclan

Riverclan

The full moon rippled on the surface of the lake while clouds billowed on the horizon, gray against the blue-black sky.

Hollypaw shivered as she trekked around the shore to the Gathering. A cold wind was ruffling her pelt the wrong way, tugging at her downy fur. She ducked between Squirrelflight and Brackenfur to hide from the chill.

"It'll be warmer on the island," Squirrelflight promised, flattening her ears against the breeze.

Spiderleg and Mousepaw padded ahead, Dustpelt, Brambleclaw, and Squirrelflight beside them, while Thornclaw kept pace with Whitewing, brushing close against her as though shielding her from the wind. Firestar and Sandstorm headed the party while Lionpaw trailed behind with Ashfur and Leafpool. As they followed the edge of the lake, small waves slapped the shore and farther out, foamy crests glowed in the moonlight.

"Get off there!" Brambleclaw's impatient command rose above the wind.

Hollypaw slipped out from her sheltered spot to see who he was yowling at.

Berrypaw was padding along a log lying in the shallows. A gust of wind whipped in from the lake, flattening Hollypaw's whiskers against her face. Through narrowed eyes she watched as Berrypaw lost his balance and fell with a splash into the water. He fought his way to his paws and, shaking the water from his creamy pelt, raced back up the shore to join his clanmates.

Brambleclaw cuffed him around the ears. "That was a mouse-brained thing to do!"

Berrypaw sneezed.

"And don't think you're missing any training if you've caught a cold!"

The sour smell of horseplace tainted the breeze as the cats neared the end of Windclan territory. The pebbly shore was narrow here, and the wind was blowing spray over it. Firestar led the party up onto the soft grass, skirting the fence. Beyond it the horses were whinnying in their field. Hollypaw felt a shiver of unease as she gazed at the great dark shapes shifting beyond the fence. _Perhaps they don't like the weather either._ The squally wind promised rain, and plenty of it.

Thud!

A horse stamped its foot close to the fence. Whitewing yowled in surprise, leaping sideways in alarm. She careered into Mousepaw, sending him tumbling down onto the pebbly shore.

"Watch out!" he spat, scrambling to his paws.

Whitewing stared down at him, appalled. "I'm sorry."

 _Why is everyone so jumpy and cross?_ Hollypaw gazed around at her clanmates. Few words had passed between them since they had left the camp. Their fur was spiked against the wind, their tails flicking. She felt uneasy herself.

Ever since Windclan had been discovered hunting squirrels, there had been rumors of prey-stealing and revenge and worries about invasion. Hollypaw wasn't convinced that Windclan's strange behavior had to end in battle. The warrior code didn't say what clans could and couldn't hunt. But she hated the tense atmosphere. And she was still worried about Riverclan.

Hollypaw extended her senses to her clanmates. All the cats were tense, afraid about Windclan and having their own prey stolen. _But why would they steal prey in Thunderclan territory?_ Windclan has a territory of their own—they even have prey of their own. Only Lionpaw was excited to go to the Gathering. It felt like he looked forward to meeting someone. _But who?_

Dustpelt halted in front of them, ears pricked. "Windclan!" he warned.

Hollypaw saw a swarm of dark shapes moving against the heather, heading down to the shore. "Do you think Firestar will mention the squirrel-hunting tonight?"

Lionpaw shrugged. "Who knows?"

The Windclan cats streamed onto the shore a little ahead of Thunderclan, and headed onto the marshy shore of Riverclan territory. Hollypaw wrinkled her nose as muddy water squelched between her claws. Firestar had slowed down, but they were still close behind.

"Squirrel thieves!" Dustpelt muttered, glancing ahead at the Windclan cats as they got closer.

"Squirrel thieves!" Berrypaw echoed more loudly.

The insult rippled through the Thunderclan party until it rang above the blustering wind. Hollypaw tensed. They couldn't fight tonight! She glanced warily at the Windclan cats. Tornear's eyes blazed in the moonlight; Breezepaw curled his lip in a menacing scowl. But Onestar padded calmly on, eyes fixed on the fallen tree ahead. He reached it first but signaled with his tail for his clan to step back. They watched with glittering eyes as Firestar led Thunderclan past and stop before the tree-bridge.

Firestar looked at the Windclan leader. "No, you reached it first Onestar. Your clan should go first."

Onestar gazed at him and dipped his head. With another flick of his tail, he lead his clan over the tree-bridge. It seem like a while until the last Windclan cat crossed over.

Firestar jumped onto the bridge. The Thunderclan cats filed across the tree-bridge. When Hollypaw's turn came to scramble up through the tangle of roots, she caught the first scent of RiverClan, not even masked by the Windclan scent. It was strong, fresh scents mixed with stale.

 _They're here!_ Relief washed her pelt. Things couldn't be too bad if they'd made it to the Gathering. She picked her way along the gnarled trunk and leaped down onto the shore. Kneading the sand beneath the pebbles to keep warm, she waited for Ashfur and Leafpool to follow.

"Is everyone over?" Firestar meowed.

Brambleclaw nodded; Firestar signaled with his tail and plunged into the undergrowth. Hollypaw darted after him into the brambles. _I must speak to Willowpaw!_ A barb stabbed her nose, but she pushed on into the softer ferns and emerged ahead of her clanmates.

The clearing was packed! Gray pelts glowed in the moonlight like stones among tortoiseshell and brown pelts. Striped fur mingled with mottled. Large toms, slender she-cats, lithe young cats. Some sat in groups exchanging hushed words, some lay at the edges gazing warily around. Small cats wove around larger cats, some so small Hollypaw could hardly believe they were old enough to be apprentices.

The Windclan cats stood next to Thunderclan, equally shocked.

The black apprentice sniffed the air. No sign of Shadowclan.

"How come there are so many Riverclan cats here?" Lionpaw had caught up to her. He sounded out of breath.

Hollypaw shook her head. Her pelt was bristling with unease. Every cat in the clearing was Riverclan.

"Some of them are a bit old to be here." Lionpaw was staring at a thickset tabby tom, whose muzzle was specked with white whiskers. A dark tabby she-cat sat beside him, her fur matted as though she could no longer wash herself properly.

"Swallowtail!" A very young cat was hurrying toward the elderly she-cat. Its eyes were wide with fear. "I can't find Graymist or Sneezekit."

"Did she say _kit?_ " Lionpaw asked in surprise.

Hollypaw didn't reply. She was staring at Willowpaw. The Riverclan apprentice was laying out some herbs in front of a heavily pregnant queen. Alarm flashing in her paws, Hollypaw zigzagged through the busy clearing to Willowpaw's side. "What's going on?"

Willowpaw looked up, her eyes filled with panic. "Hollypaw!"

"What in Starclan has happened?"

Before Willowpaw could answer, a tiny tortoiseshell kit was wailing in the middle of the chaos as Thunderclan and Windclan joined the cats in the clearing. "Graymist? Graymist?"

"Sneezekit! What are you doing away from your mother?" Swallowtail darted forward and plucked up the tiny kit in her jaws. She winced as though the weight were too heavy for her stiff limbs and padded back to Mallowkit.

"Why are there kits and elders here, Willowpaw?" Hollypaw turned back to her friend.

"We had to—"

Firestar's mew cut her off. "Leopardstar, what's going on?"

The Thunderclan leader was padding toward the Great Oak, where Leopardstar sat among the roots.

Onestar was hurrying right behind him. "It looks like you've brought the whole of Riverclan!" he growled.

Leopardstar blinked. "I have."

"What?" Onestar stumbled to a halt beside her, eyes wide.

Hollypaw leaned forward. _What had happened to Riverclan?_

Blackstar's angry mew sounded from the edge of the clearing. "What's going on here?"

Shadowclan had arrived.

Firestar plucked at the earth. "Let's start the meeting. Then we can all find out." He leaped onto the lowest branch of the oak, Leopardstar following. Blackstar and Onestar climbed up beside him. Below, the clans jostled as they struggled to find space to settle.

Willowpaw stayed beside the pregnant cat.

"Is everything all right?" Hollypaw hissed.

"Join your clanmates." Willowpaw pawed at the ball of herbs, avoiding her friend's gaze. " _Please!_ "

Hollypaw nodded and fell in behind a group of Riverclan warriors padding toward the oak. Their heads were high, their tails flicking fretfully. A gray Riverclan queen pushed past her, heading in the other direction.

"Sorry!" Hollypaw swerved out of the way, but the queen didn't seem to notice her.

"Graymist! You're here!" Swallowtail's mew was filled with relief as the queen reached her. The kits hurried to greet their mother, but Graymist shooed them back and followed Swallowtail to a clump of ferns where Riverclan elders and kits were already sheltering. Their eyes glowed warily from the shadows.

Hollypaw hurried to join her Clanmates. Berrypaw flinched as she squeezed past him. "Watch my tail!"

"Careful!" Dustpelt warned as she stepped on his paw.

"Sorry!" Hollypaw slid gingerly around Lionpaw, making sure she only put her feet on solid ground.

"Did you find anything out?" he hissed.

"No."

"Just sit down and keep quiet," Brackenfur ordered.

Hollypaw blinked a silent apology and looked up at Leopardstar.

The RiverClan leader gazed steadily from the oak. A kit wailed and was quickly silenced. "We have a small problem on Riverclan territory," Leopardstar began.

 _Small?_ Hollypaw's heart pounded. _Then why are you all here?_

"We've had to leave our camp."

"Leave your camp?" Blackstar's eyes glittered with interest.

"Only for a short time," Leopardstar meowed quickly. "We're sorting the trouble out. We shall move back as soon as it's fixed. Until then we'll be staying on the island."

 _What about Gatherings?_ Hollypaw glanced up anxiously at Silverpelt. Gatherings were governed by the warrior code; they took place on land shared equally by the clans. Surely this broke with the tradition laid down by their ancestors?

"Where are you hunting?" Onestar stared accusingly at the Riverclan leader.

Russetfur stood up, the fur pricking along her spine. "There can't possibly be enough food on the island for the whole clan."

Leopardstar glared at the Shadowclan deputy. "We have the lake!"

"Is that enough?" Crowfeather called. "What will you do when you have fished out the shallow waters around the island?"

Mistyfoot bristled. "We're not eating _rabbit_ , if that's what you're worried about!" The Riverclan deputy curled her lip as though rabbit was the last thing she'd dream of swallowing.

"What about Gatherings?" Firestar gazed calmly at Leopardstar.

"We hope to be back in our camp by the next full moon," Leopardstar meowed.

"And what if you're not?" Blackstar demanded. "It's not fair if you outnumber every other clan at the Gatherings."

Thornclaw stood up. "No cat ever lived at Fourtrees," he pointed out. "It was special to all the clans, like Mothermouth."

Leopardstar met his gaze. "We would not be doing this if we had another option."

"What if you can never return to your camp?" Onestar's claws scratched the bark underneath him. "Where will you go then?"

"Will you move to new territory?"

"Will you invade another clan's land?"

Anxious mews sounded from the clearing.

Leopardstar's gaze swept the cats. "You are worrying about something that will never happen!"

Blackstar's tail was twitching. "But what if it does?" he hissed.

"Three territories can't support four clans!" Onestar meowed.

Smokefoot, a Shadowclan warrior, lifted his chin. "One clan will have to go!"

Silence gripped the clearing. Nervous glances flashed from one cat to another.

Hollypaw's belly tightened. Could one clan really be driven from the lake? _No!_ There had to be four clans! That was the way it was meant to be.

"We have to believe Leopardstar," Firestar's mew rang over the clearing. "We must give Riverclan a chance to return to their territory."

"At least until the next Gathering," Sandstorm put in. The clans muttered, but no cat argued.

Firestar nodded. "If Riverclan is still living on the island next full moon, we can decide what to do." He stared at the other leaders. "Does that seem fair?"

Blackstar nodded curtly.

Onestar flicked his tail. "I guess," he muttered.

"Then it's settled." Firestar gazed out over the clans. "Thunderclan has little to report. One of our warriors was wounded, but he has recovered." He glanced at Onestar. "And newleaf has brought plenty of prey to the forest."

Hollypaw dug her claws into the earth. _He's hinting about the squirrels._

Onestar narrowed his eyes. "Windclan is healthy. And prey is running well on our lands too."

Hollypaw felt Berrypaw's breath ruffle her ear. "He said p _rey_ , not rabbits," he whispered fiercely.

"Why doesn't Firestar mention the squirrels?" Spiderleg hissed.

"Is he too scared to speak?"

Hollypaw jerked around to see which Thunderclan warrior had muttered the question. Thornclaw was glaring at Firestar.

 _But he's right not to stir up more trouble! There's enough tension here already._

"Blackstar?" Onestar was prompting the ShadowClan leader. "Anything to report?"

"A few Twolegs by the lake," Blackstar revealed. "But none near our camp."

"Good." Firestar nodded. "If there's no other news, I think we should leave Riverclan in peace."

Whispers rustled through the uneasy crowd, but Firestar jumped down from the Great Oak. Leopardstar followed him. The Gathering was over.

Hollypaw felt a wave of relief as she watched Windclan and Shadowclan disappearing into the undergrowth. She hurried back to Willowpaw. "What's really going on?" she demanded. "Why did you leave your camp?"

Willowpaw's mouth was full of herbs. "I can't talk now," she mumbled. "Not with every cat listening."

"I understand." Hollypaw could see the desperate plea in her friend's eyes. "I'll come back later. You can tell me then."

Willowpaw spat the herb pulp onto the ground. "Please don't get into trouble!"

"I won't," Hollypaw promised. She had to hear the whole story. Firestar might be able to help Riverclan. The future of the clans could depend on what she could find out. She spotted Brackenfur disappearing into the undergrowth with Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight. Lionpaw was with Heatherpaw for a moment before beckoning to her with his tail.

"I've got to go." Hollypaw touched her muzzle to Willowpaw's cheek before darting away.


	24. Whispering Stick

Whispering Stick

She was laying down on bare mountain ground, waiting out in the open. Hollypaw perked her ears when she hear powerful wings beating the air.

 _Not yet, needs to be closer._

Soon, she could feel the gust from the wing.

 _Come on, just a little more_ — _there!_

Hollypaw made a powerful leap, spinning her body to face a shocked hawk. She grabbed the neck by the jaws, her spin and claws turning the bird to its back. They landed with a heavy thump. The bird struggled for a bit, falling limp.

"How do you do that?"

Hollypaw faced the speaker, a gray tabby with blue eyes. She was about to answer when some cat fidgeted. She opened her eyes to the dark den, her brother on his back with flattened ears.

"What's got you so worked up?" Hollypaw hissed, irrigated.

"I can't sleep. Keep hearing whispers in my ears," Jaypaw complained. He turned back to his belly. "I'm taking a walk."

Hollypaw leap to her paws and shook her pelt. "I'll go with you."

"Aren't you tired?"

"I don't think I can go back to sleep right now, now that I'm wide awake. A night walk might help."

"Okay."

They pushed their way through the brambles. Outside, the wind was stirring up the restless scents of newleaf so that the whole forest seemed to be swaying and fidgeting with impatience. The sky was clear and the moon was shining, the camp bright. As they headed for the camp entrance, the thorn barrier quivered.

"Jaypaw? Hollypaw?"

Lionpaw was squeezing though the dirtplace tunnel. His pelt pricked with guilt and alarm. And it smelled of the moors.

"Hi, Lionpaw," Jaypaw greeted him curiously.

 _He's been out in the forest!_

"I was just making dirt." Lionpaw was lying.

"I was just going out." Jaypaw mewed, having the same thoughts. "Will you come with us?"

"If you want," Lionpaw mewed warily.

 _He feels too guilty to refuse._

Jaypaw pad past him to the tunnel. Hollypaw followed right behind, murmuring close to him. "I really hope you don't end up conflicted, Lionpaw."

Lionpaw shrugged and pad after them.

Birchfall hailed them from the camp entrance. "Who's there?"

"Only us," Jaypaw called back. He padded toward the thorn tunnel. "We're just going out into the forest."

Birchfall purred. "A midnight adventure," he meowed. "That reminds me of my apprentice days." He sounded wistful, even though he'd been a warrior for only a few moons. The warrior stepped aside, and the three siblings left though the tunnel.

"Watch out for foxes!" Birchfall called after them.

Hollypaw shivered. The memory of the fox cubs springing from the their den while she and her brothers searched through the forest made her belly tighten. She could also smell fear from Jaypaw.

"Don't worry," Lionpaw reassured them. "I can handle foxes now."

They padded up the slope and onto the ridge.

"Where are we going?" Hollypaw couldn't help but ask.

"The lake."

"The lake?" She echoed. She open her sense, sense Jaypaw going to the lake for something ancient, older than the clans. A stick—it seems like—in the lake.

Jaypaw continued on, his nose in the wind. "Do you think Windclan is planning to invade us?" he mewed.

"It wouldn't make sense." There was hope in her brother's mew. "It's Riverclan they should be worried about, not us."

"But what about the squirrel-hunting?"

"Why shouldn't they hunt squirrels? The woods belong to them on that side of the gully." Hollypaw answered, her tail twitching. _Isn't this kind of obvious?_

As their paws crunched on the pebbles around the edge of the lake, Lionpaw hesitated. "Why are we here?"

"I left something here," Jaypaw explained. "I need to drag it into the trees. I want to keep it safe from the lake."

"What?"

"A stick."

"A _stick_?" Lionpaw had his jaw hanging for a moment, shocked.

"Yes!" Jaypaw sniffed the air. "It has markings on it." His tail pricked with anxiety. "I left it here."

"What does it look like?"

"No bark," Jaypaw mewed. "Just smooth wood. With lines scratched into it."

"Okay," Hollypaw mewed. "You check where you left it. Lionpaw will search the top of the shore in case the wind's carried it up there and I'll go near the lake if the stick was washed away." _Which I'm certain it is._

Lionpaw headed to the top and Jaypaw hurried to where she assumed the stick was. Hollypaw walked to the edge, scanning over the surface. The water splashed over her paws.

"Have either of you found it?" Lionpaw's mew was muffled by the wind.

"No!" Jaypaw's panicked cry was hard to hear.

"Not yet!" Hollypaw yowled over the wind.

"Is this it?" Lionpaw called suddenly. Jaypaw charged toward his brother. He tripped over a piece of driftwood, bruising his paw, but he ignored the pain and limped desperately toward Lionpaw. The gray tabby snapped at his brother before looking around desperately.

 _'Over here.'_

Hollypaw erect her ears to the wind. Jaypaw had also turned his head to the lake.

 _'This way.'_

The black she-cat padded into the water, the surface touching her stomach.

 _'Jaypaw.'_

She paused, somewhat annoyed. Did it just call for her blind brother? _For what?_ Hollypaw extended her senses again and followed it. The waves lapped over her spine and she lifted her chin to keep it dry.

Suddenly, her paw knocked it beneath the water. _Found you!_

Taking a great gulp of air, she ducked her head beneath the waves and grabbed the end of the branch in her teeth. Tugging, she began to drag it up the beach. She let go and took another gulp of air before diving again to grab the branch. She dug his paws into the pebbles, scrabbling to get a grip. The stick was so heavy! Or rather it was somehow stuck to the ground. Something brushed past her, tugging at the stick.

Suddenly, it moved more easily. Almost weightless, the stick began to float toward the moonlight; Hollypaw only needed to swim after it with her brothers. She broke the surface, sputtering. Jaypaw and Lionpaw carried the stick on both ends, swimming to shore. Hollypaw followed them until she could touch the pebbles, pulling herself out of the water and shook.

"Is that the stick you were looking for?"

Jaypaw dropped it and ran his paw over the scratches. "It's the one."

"You went out in the middle of the night for a swim for this?!" Lionpaw mewed, shaking himself dry.

Hollypaw scrambled away from him. "Hey! Watch it!"

"Sorry, Hollypaw." Lionpaw gave her a sheepish look. "But you have to admit this is kind of crazy, to wake up in the middle of the night and do all this just for a stick."

"It's not," Jaypaw snapped hotly. "It's important."

 _'Thank you, Jaypaw. We'll be remembered as long as you guard us.'_

"Come on," he mewed. "Let's get this tucked under a root and get back to camp."

After the stick was secured, they headed back to camp. Hollypaw nudged Jaypaw. "Did the stick whispered stuff to you?"

Jaypaw gave her a surprised look. "You can hear them?"

"Um, yes?" Hollypaw mewed, curious.

Jaypaw blinked at her and turned away. "We've got to talk about this sometime."

* * *

 **I just feel like adding this for some reason.**

 **Jaypaw: What are you doing with my stick?**

 **Hollypaw: Hiding it.**

 **Jaypaw: Why?**

 **Hollypaw: Because.**


	25. Clan Problem

Clan Problem

Hollypaw turned and stamped out of the cave. Pebbles clacked under her paws as she bounded down the rocks to the clearing. Firestar and the others hadn't been listening to her about Riverclan's problem. Brightheart even put Mousefur—still weak from greencough—in a drill if they were attacked at night.

"Wait!"

Hollypaw glanced backward.

Leafpool was hurrying after her. "I can see you're upset."

Hollypaw turned on her. "Why won't any of you listen?"

"You must remember," Leafpool soothed, "we all have more experience than you. You have to trust us to know what's right."

"Starclan would want us to help Riverclan," Hollypaw mewed.

"You can't be sure of that." Leafpool blinked. "I know you're worried about Willowpaw, but you're training to be a warrior now. It's not appropriate to have such close friends in other clans."

Hollypaw glared at her. _This isn't about Willowpaw. This is about the future of all four clans!_ She searched Leafpool's gaze and found only a gentle concern. _I'm wasting my breath!_

"Go and find Brackenfur," Leafpool suggested. "He's heading for the training hollow."

"I know where he is," Hollypaw hissed through gritted teeth.

"I'm sure he must be expecting you." Leafpool touched Hollypaw's cheek with her nose, then padded away.

Hollypaw flexed her claws. If she could find out exactly what was happening in Riverclan, perhaps then she could convince Firestar to help, and the clans wouldn't need to fight. She had to talk to Willowpaw.

She had to talk to Willowpaw.

She darted through the entrance tunnel, thorns scraping her pelt. Outside the camp, she glanced around. No one was there. She hurried into the trees, away from the training hollow, and headed up the ridge toward the Windclan border.

"Squirrel!"

Birchfall's excited yowl pierced the air. Hollypaw dived into a patch of ferns, pressing her belly to the ground. Paw steps were pounding toward her. She peeped through the green fronds and saw Birchfall and Ashfur skidding down the slope. Lionpaw was racing behind them, his tail fluffed out. She ducked back into the foliage and held her breath. The ferns rustled around her as the patrol whisked past less than a tail-length away.

Hollypaw screwed her eyes shut. _Don't let them see me!_

Heart pounding, she heard their paw steps fade into the forest. Relief washed her pelt and she crept from her hiding place.

"Going somewhere?"

Hollypaw jumped from her hiding spot, turning to face an amused Nightshimmer. "Aren't you suppose to be in the Training Hollow with Jaypaw?" she hissed.

"He's having a mock fight with Redstrike." She paused, ears erect. A breeze hit her whiskers. "You haven't talked to your father yet?"

Hollypaw lashed her tail. "He won't listen. They're all busy preparing themselves for a battle that might not happen. I have to go there to see if we can help."

"Then go ahead. The rain will hid your scent."

Hollypaw looked at her, astonished. "You won't stop me?"

"Not when you are in conflict. I'll pretend I didn't see you. Just know that you're not able to help everybody and watch out for a dog. Make sure you return without causing trouble for both Thunderclan and Riverclan or I will have to tell them."

Hollypaw, excited, hurried to the border. "Thank you, Nightshimmer!"

-Riverclan Territory-

Suddenly, a yowl sounded ahead. Hollypaw froze and sniffed the air. Fresh warrior scent. A hunting party?

She dropped into a crouch, trembling with cold and fear as she spotted the stone-colored pelt of Mistyfoot through the reeds. The Riverclan deputy was stalking something. Hollypaw backed away as Mistyfoot drew nearer. She pressed herself against the earth, hoping that her drenched pelt was too wet to betray her scent.

Suddenly, Mistyfoot sprang forward, paws outstretched. A moment later she straightened, her whiskers twitching with triumph and a water vole dangling from her jaws. Hollypaw sighed with relief as the Riverclan deputy turned and padded away. Mistyfoot looked thin and her usually glossy pelt was dull. Clearly, Riverclan was going hungry.

Hollypaw waited a few moments before she began to pad on gingerly. The island was not far ahead now, the tree-bridge distinct on the shoreline. How would she cross it without being seen? She stiffened herself against the anxiety that nagged at her bones. _I've come this far. . ._ Slipping from the cover of the reeds, she darted over the marshy shore and dived among the tangle of roots at the foot of the tree-bridge. Pressing herself into them she scanned the shore, blood pulsing in her ears. She sniffed the air.

No sign of any cat.

Cautiously, she clambered up through the roots and hauled herself onto the tree-bridge. Keeping low, she crept along the trunk, gripping the slimy bark with her claws. Hardly daring to breath, she pricked her ears, listening for an alarm call. She reached the other side, shaking with relief, and slid down through the branches onto the shore.

 _Which way now?_

This wasn't a Gathering. She couldn't just push through the undergrowth and head for the clearing. She let out her sense. She could sense a group of cats in the island. Willowpaw should be there but how to go to her without getting caught.

Hope tingled in her paws when she realized that, not far along the shore, the beach was overtaken by undergrowth. The trees reached the water here, their roots snaking into the lake, and ferns and brambles tumbled over the lip of the island. She continued, hiding.

Suddenly, the undergrowth ended. Rocks stretched ahead of her, rough and flat and black against the water. They reached into the lake, forming a small causeway that ended in a rocky outcrop, jutting up from the water. Hollypaw lifted her head, ears pricked, and tasted the air. She could hear the sounds and feel the presences of Riverclan drifting from the center of the island: queens talking, kits mewling, an elder complaining about ticks. No sound of warriors or apprentices, though.

Hollypaw frowned. At the Gathering, the island had been teeming with Riverclan cats. Where were the rest of them now?

 _No time to worry about that!_

Where was Willowpaw?

Hollypaw shivered. She was freezing. Her wet pelt clung to her. She was far from home. Panic started to rise in her chest. What if she couldn't find her friend? She should've taken note of her friend's presence like Silver Eye had suggested for each cat when a Gathering comes; but there was just too much going on.

Then she heard a squeal. A kit was wailing somewhere up ahead. "That hurt!"

The soft mew of a queen soothed it. "It'll only hurt for a bit."

Hollypaw could smell herbs. Someone was treating the kit with marigold!

She crept out onto the rough, flat causeway, following the scent. It was coming from the rocky outcrop. Crouching lower than ever, Hollypaw slithered around the edge and peered through a gap in the stones.

"We'll need more marigold soon."

 _Willowpaw!_

The Riverclan medicine cat apprentice was crouched in a hollow in the heart of the outcrop, crushing leaves against the rough stone floor with her paws. "The kits keep getting pine needles stuck in their pads."

Mothwing sat on a ledge nearby, licking herbs into the mewling kit's paw. A white she-cat held the kit in her paws as it struggled against Mothwing's lapping tongue.

"Try to keep her out of the pine needles, Icewing," Mothwing advised.

"It's not easy," the queen sighed.

"I know," Mothwing agreed. "I'll come back to the nursery with you and sweep some of the needles away from the entrance."

The queen lifted the kit by its scruff and began to carry it, still mewling, out from the sheltering rocks and along the causeway that led back to the island. Mothwing followed her.

When she was sure there was no other cat close enough to hear, Hollypaw hissed through the gap in the rock. "Willowpaw!"

The medicine cat apprentice froze. "Who's that?"

"It's me, Hollypaw!"

Hollypaw quickly clambered back around the jutting rocks and slipped into the hollow beside Willowpaw. There was more space inside the outcrop than she had imagined. It was a cave, hollowed out by countless moons of wind and water, protected from the wind and rain by a low roof.

Willowpaw crouched at the back, her eyes round with shock. "What are you doing here?"

"I promised I'd come," Hollypaw reminded her. "Does anyone know you're here?"

Hollypaw shook her head. "Only Nightshimmer." Then she tensed. Mothwing's scent was wafting into the cave.

"Hollypaw?" Mothwing's mew was sharp.

Hollypaw spun around.

"I came back for poppy seeds." The Riverclan medicine cat was standing in the cave entrance. Her bones looked sharp beneath her pelt. "Hollypaw! What are you doing here?"

"I had to do something!" Hollypaw mewed desperately. "Thunderclan are getting ready to fight Windclan. Everyone's scared about what will happen if Riverclan is driven out of its home."

Mothwing looked at her. "Riverclan is not going to be driven out of anywhere."

"How can you be sure?" Hollypaw gazed back at her thin frame, unconvinced. "You're half starved, and you're still living on the island."

Willowpaw brushed against her. "It won't be for long."

Hollypaw glanced at the rows of herbs carefully stacked against the cave wall. It looked like Riverclan was planning to be here for some time. "But you've brought everything from your old camp," she pointed out.

The Riverclan medicine cat sighed. "You'd better show her."

"Really?" Willowpaw looked surprised.

"Now?" Mothwing nodded. "Just don't let yourselves be seen."

Willowpaw nodded and streaked from the cave. Hollypaw hurried after her, pelt ruffled with curiosity. She followed Willowpaw across the tiny causeway and back around the shoreline.

"Let's swim across to the mainland," Willowpaw mewed. "It'll be easier to stay out of sight."

Hollypaw's wet fur spiked in alarm, but she had just swam with her brothers that night. "Alright."

Willowpaw lead her to a shoreline near Riverclan territory, close to the marsh, and padded into the water. Hollypaw followed, keeping her head up. They reached the other side, their paws touching the pebbles.

"Wait here."

The medicine cat apprentice pushed her way among some clumps of grass that grew half in, half out of the water. "Here." Before Hollypaw could complain, she scooped up a pawful of brown muck and smeared it over Hollypaw's pelt.

Hollypaw gagged. "What's that?" The goo clung to her fur, sticky and smelly.

"Otter dung," Willowpaw mewed. "It should hide your ThunderClan scent."

Hollypaw coughed. "You're kidding!"

"You can wash it off later," Willowpaw hissed. "Just be quiet and keep still."

She smeared another few pawfuls along Hollypaw's flank. Hollypaw began to wish she had never come. Then Willowpaw reared up and scanned the shore on both sides of the lake.

Willowpaw was lead her up a slope. There were trees here and the undergrowth grew thick and lush. The slope grew steeper until Hollypaw found she was scrambling up a red sandy cliff. She followed Willowpaw as the Riverclan apprentice leaped up and up, using rocks that jutted from the earth to haul herself higher. At last the two cats clawed their way onto the grassy bank at the top. Panting, Hollypaw looked down. The lake shone far below, glimmering through the fresh green leaves.

"Where are we going?" Hollypaw panted.

"You'll see in a moment." Willowpaw headed up the bank and disappeared into a swath of long grass.

Hollypaw hurried after her.

"Look." Willowpaw had stopped.

Hollypaw crept to her side as Willowpaw gently parted the grass. She peered through. Below them, a wide stream followed the line of the slope. An island rose in the middle, parting the water abruptly so that eddies swirled where the stream was forced to divide. The island was crowded with small trees and bushes, green amid the rolling brown water.

"That's our old camp," Willowpaw explained.

Hollypaw heard the clatter of rocks and stiffened. "What's that?"

"The warriors are working."

"Working?" Hollypaw blinked.

Suddenly, she spotted the pelts of Riverclan warriors and apprentices weaving through the grass on either side of the stream. On the near side, she recognized the apprentices Pouncepaw and Minnowpaw. They were helping Reedwhisker and Voletooth to shift stones, pushing them toward the stream and tipping them over the edge so that they fell with a loud splash into the water.

"What are they doing?"

"Blocking the stream to make it deeper and wider," Willowpaw replied.

Blackclaw, a muscular, broad-shouldered black tom, called from the far side of the stream. "Hurry! Grab what you can!" He stood near the water's edge, calling orders to warriors who were bravely leaping across the channel with wads of mossy bedding dangling from their jaws.

"We need to rescue as much stuff as we can," Willowpaw explained. "The pine needles on the island are no good for making the nests weatherproof."

"But why are you doing all this?" Hollypaw couldn't understand what was going on. The old camp looked safe enough, almost as well protected by the divided stream as Thunderclan was by the cliffs of stone.

A warning yowl sounded upstream and Minnowpaw came hurtling down the bank. "They're coming!"

Every Riverclan cat instantly dropped whatever they were carrying or pushing and scrambled away from the island, heading down toward the lake.

Hollypaw's fur bristled. "What's the matter?"

"You'll see," Willowpaw mewed.

Tramping through the grass, along the far side of the stream, came a gang of Twoleg kits. They were sweeping jagged branches through the grass and mewling loudly to one another. As Hollypaw watched, the largest of the kits hopped from the shore and onto a stone that barely broke the surface of the stream, then onto another and another. Balancing precariously on one leg, it leaned toward the island, and began to poke the bushes with its stick. The other kits yelped their approval and encouraged him by waving their hairless paws in the air.

Hollypaw stared at her friend in dismay.

Willowpaw lashed her tail. "Now do you see why we had to leave?"


	26. Dog

**Unknown** **Guest: I'm pretty sure you're not the only one to notice it (though some of them probably didn't know the word). It's kinda common to copy some parts of the books when you're writing an what-if fic. I am following the same plot as the Erins had put, or rather for the most part. _E:Melting Ice_ was also done in the same manner. Though thanks for the warning. Not interested in selling any of my fanfics. I usually do say what is what if it's not obvious. Like Mamatad for _Graystripe's Five Day Nightmare._ The obvious part is the fact that this is a fanfic site and I'm writing a _Warriors_ fanfic in the _Warriors_ part of the site. If I'm writing in the Misc part, then I would say from what I am writing about. Plus, ****I already removed as much as I can without ruining the story. The Erins put so much detail it's kinda hard to remove them.**

 **Noobah9: Sorry for confusing you. Yes 'steam' is suppose to be 'stream' in ch 8. How the heck did I do that for the whole chapter? Kinda like how I almost type Graystripe for Graypaw when he was still an apprentice and Jawpaw/Jypaw for Jaypaw.**

* * *

Dog

"It was Blackclaw's idea to push the stones into the stream," Willowpaw explained as they picked their way down the sandy cliff.

Hollypaw put her head on one side. "But that will stop the water flowing."

"Exactly, so the stream above gets deeper and wider, and the island will be better protected."

Hollypaw was impressed. "But will it be enough to keep the Twoleg kits away?"

"Once the stream's flooded, we're going to put up barricades of gorse." Willowpaw stopped to catch her breath. "The Twolegs aren't trying to hurt us. I think they're just playing." She bent her head to wash the red sand from her pads. "They're like our kits. If we make it too hard for them to get near the island, they'll give up and play somewhere else."

"And then you can move back to the island!" Hollypaw guessed. Riverclan had no intention of moving onto Windclan territory. Her paws tingled. She couldn't wait to get back to her own camp and tell Firestar. Windclan's borders were perfectly safe, and they'd have no need to try to take any of Thunderclan's territory. There wasn't going to be a battle after all!

Willowpaw bounded down the rest of the slope and wove in among the reeds.

Hollypaw hurried after her. "But why didn't Leopardstar just tell the other clans what was going on?"

"And look weak because we'd been driven out of our home?"

"But the other clans might have helped."

"Riverclan can sort out their own problems!"

Hollypaw lowered her gaze. "I didn't mean to say that you couldn't, but—"

Willowpaw's pelt was bristling. "It's hard living on the island. There's not enough fish because the boats scare them away, and we can't hunt in the rest of our territory until we get rid of the Twoleg kits. The clan is hungry and hungry warriors don't win battles."

Hollypaw remembered Mistyfoot's dull pelt and the way Mothwing's bones jutted out on her hips and along her spine.

"Do you really think Leopardstar can trust the other clans not to take advantage?" Willowpaw went on, pushing her way through a clump of marsh grass. "We need all our strength to rescue our camp from the Twolegs."

"I won't tell Thunderclan that you're hungry," Hollypaw promised. "Only that you'll be back in your old camp soon and there's no reason to think you'll have to leave your territory."

Willowpaw blinked gratefully. "But first you have to get home," she reminded her. "Your clan must be wondering where you are."

Hollypaw felt a twinge of guilt. Had her clanmates noticed she was missing yet? "I'll just go back the way I came."

Willowpaw stretched up on her hind legs and peered above the spiky grass. "The shore's quiet," she announced, dropping down onto four paws. She began to weave through the marsh toward the firmer ground inland, where bushes and ferns crowded the shoreline.

"Let's head up there," Willowpaw suggested. "It'll be easier to hide."

Her eyes sparkled mischievously. "And the otter dung will stop any cats from noticing your scent."

"Wasn't there anything else you could have used?"

"Tansy might have worked," Willowpaw admitted. "But our supplies are a bit low." She pushed her way past a clump of ferns, and Hollypaw padded after her.

They followed on the shoreline until Hollypaw began to smell the scent of horseplace. "We're near Windclan territory," she whispered. "You can leave me here."

Willowpaw's eyes clouded with worry. "Not till we reach the border."

The wind raced down from the moors, tugging at Hollypaw's pelt. She could smell the Windclan scent-line only a few fox-lengths ahead.

Willowpaw rested her tail-tip on Hollypaw's shoulder. "Promise you'll be careful."

Suddenly, stones clattered on the shore. Willowpaw whipped around.

A Riverclan patrol was haring toward them, terror flowing from them like a waterfall.

Hollypaw stiffened, fear shooting through her like lightning. Then she was pushed into the water, turning to see Willowpaw giving her an apologetic look. The Riverclan apprentice faced the patrol, pretending like she was suppose to be there.

Hollypaw ducked under water and flattened herslef, her nose above the water's surface.

Reedwhisker headed the patrol, his apprentice, Pouncepaw, racing behind him. Voletooth was at Reedwhisker's heels with Minnowpaw at his side. The young she-cat's dappled fur was slicked back by the wind, her whiskers blown against her cheeks, running as though her life depended on it.

The black tom with gray eyes widen and yowled at the medicine cat apprentice.

Willowpaw's green eyes grew and ran in the same direction as the patrol, towards Windclan. The Riverclanners rushed past her, the rough-haired black-and-white dog hurtling after the RiverClan patrol. Its eyes were wild in delight, its lips drawn back to show shining white fangs. Thankfully, it passed her without stopping.

Hollypaw rose from the water, sniffing. She should stay in the water along the shore. The black apprentice ran along the shore, hurrying to her home. She caught the scent of the Riverclan patrol with Windclan cats. She lowered herself again, swimming as fast as a Thunderclan cat could. She lifted her head, gasping for breath.

"Hollypaw? What were you doing in the water?"

She looked to see amber eyes staring at her, confused.

"Uhh..." _What am I suppose to say to a Windclanner?_

"Breezepaw, we're hunting for rabbit! Not fish!" Hollypaw glanced to the side to see his mentor, Whitetail, running towards them.

"This is for thanks to what Jaypaw did for me."

Hollypaw was about to ask him before his paw pushed her head back into the water. Though the water and their closeness, she can hear their muffled voices. Breezepaw seem to be talking to his mentor and they walked away from the water. She waited as long as her breath could hold, knowing if Whitetail catches her; he will bring her to Onestar. Her lungs screamed until she jumped, taking in air like it was a blessing.

She shook her fur, warming her a bit and ran the rest of the way home. Passing the border, she signed and floped on the wet grass. Home.

"I can't. I really can't." Cinderpaw's anxious mew came from ahead.

"Cinderpaw, you going to need to climb trees someday. I know Silveryflight's fall scared you but someday, you will have climb. Because of a possible battle with Windclan, we might have to fight here." Cloudtail's mew was calm, trying to smooth his apprentice.

Hollypaw poked her head though a bush to see her friend a mouse-length above the ground at the side of a tree. Cloudtail was by her side with concerned look.

She turned away from the scene. Brackenfur had told her to be at the Training Hollow. Hollypaw hurried there.

-Training Hollow-

"Where were you Hollypaw? You weren't at the Training Hollow and camp. Some of us thought you were captured by Windclan. " Brackenfur's worried mew made her flatten her ears. She was almost caught by Windclan.

"She was helping me gather herbs." The black she-cat padded into the clearing from behind, putting down the plants. "I didn't know she was suppose to be with you, Brackenfur."

Her mentor groaned. "I never know what you are thinking about, Nightshimmer. So, do you still need her?"

"No, she can join the rest of you."


	27. Extra:Blood and Sky

Extra: Blood and Sky

A small tom padded in one of the many paths of the Inbetween. His black pelt blended quite well with his current surroundings. He soon reached a pond and with his one white paw, tapped it. The ripples show his successor sleeping in his den.

-Bloodclan-

"Icicle! Wake up!"

The pale gray tom groaned. "Sniff, what is it? I just want to sleep right now..."

His tabby brother rolled his eyes. "The patrol this morning found kits in the river. They took them to Sam but wanted to know what will happen to the kits."

"Are the kits awake?"

"Well, no, but Sam said they'll wake up soon."

"Tell me when they wake up and we'll decide after asking them."

Sniff dipped his head and left.

-Sam's den-

"The kits are here, Sir." Icicle nodded to the fighter and padded inside the wooden den. A golden tom sat with the now awake kits.

"Are they alright now, Sam?"

The healer nodded. "They should be fine with good rest and enough prey. But there's nowhere in Bloodclan like that."

He twitched his whiskers. "I see. Well, hello young kits. Where do you come from?" Icicle mewed, turning to the kits.

"We're from Skyclan!" mewed the tortoiseshell.

The Bloodclan leader twitched his ear. "Sniff?"

"Yes?"

"We should bring these kits back to where they came from."

"I see."

Now then...I guess some cat will have to care for them for now. What do you eat?"

"Birds! And squirrels!"

 _'So they're old enough then.'_ Icicle took the tom on his back. "Sniff take over for me until I come back!"

"Where are you taking us?" the dark gray tom asked.

"Don't worry, I'll take you to the barn. White and her parents can take care of you there," Icicle mewed.

"You really like her, brother, don't you," Sniff stated, grinning.

"What?! No! What make you think that, Sniff?!" Icicle cried out. "I'm just taking these kits there because of plentiful prey and safety. Just take over til I get back."

"Okay~," Sniff mewed, smirking.

-Barley's barn-

"Hello?" Some cat called out from the barn entrance.

White looked away from her mouse to see Icicle.

"Um, Barley, I found these kits by the river. I was wondering if you could care for them until I can send them home." A ginger-and-white she-kit and a gray tom-kit was at his paws.

White abandon her mouse to greet the visitors. "Hello, Icicle, who are these kits?"

"I'm Blossomkit and this is Hawkkit. We're kits of Cherrytail and Sharpclaw!" mewed the she-kit.

"Clan cats?" White stared at the kits, surprised.

"From Skyclan."

White blinked, remembering. "Oh. Then, how old are they?"

"We are four moons old!"

"Is it alright to leave them here?" Icicle asked.

"Yes, you do have your own clan to worry about," Barley answered.

"Thank you."

"Hello? Dusk? You there?" Icicle called into a healer's home.

A dark gray tabby padded to him. "Icicle? What are you doing here? Is there a problem out there?"

"Do you have the herbs for traveling herbs? I know you used most of your herbs from the outbreak with rats, but some cat will have to return kits to Skyclan. The kits were found from the river and-"

"Kits? From the river? The ones Sam had to look over this morning?"

"Yes." _'News sure spreads quickly.'_ "Traveling herbs will be needed to take them back to Skyclan. Huh, now that I think about it, I'll need to sent some cats there..."

-Differences-

"I'm going to Skyclan!" White mewed with determination after Icicle explained to the kits that it'll take a few sunrises. The pale tom stared at her.

"Are you sure you want to go?"

White nodded. "I have been itching to see the world beyond this city. Ever since my sister left with the clans when the forest was destroyed, I can't help but to wonder what drives her to stay when she could have stayed in this barn. So, I'm going with the kits."

Icicle looked away. "I see..."

"Are you coming too, Icicle?" The kits asked.

The young leader lowered himself, looking at their eye. "I'm sorry, but I really can't go with you too. I have a responsibility entrusted by my mentor after all. I can't just off and go somewhere random when this place needs me."

"Aww!" both kits mewed, their ears down.

Blossomkit wasn't down for long. "So, you're like Leafstar and Sharpclaw?

"The clan leader and deputy? Yes, I am like them. But Bloodclan runs differently from your clans, therefore, we don't have the warrior code and we don't have warriors. We have fighters who defend our territory."

"What about Starclan?"

"Well...It kinda depends. Some cats come from here while you kits come from clans."

"What does that mean?" The brother asked.

"You'll know when you're older. Like maybe when you start training as warriors."

"When we're apprentices? But it'll take so long~," Blossomkit whined.

Icicle chuckled. "When you get old or just warrior aged, you might wish you were kits again."

-Goodbye-

"The herbs are here, White. You sure you want to take this journey alone?"

"I'm not alone. I have these kits with me. Besides, your sister, Snowflake is a guard in Bloodclan, who'll be coming with me on this journey."

"Beside, brother, do you really not trust our teacher's skill?"

"Nightfrost is a great teacher, and we are his students. But didn't you kinda skip some of his lessons?"

"Hey! You and Sniff were with me as well and you two are leader and deputy," the white she-cay retorted.

"True, well I'll trust you to get back home as well?"

"Of course brother."

"And I'll miss you, White. You were a great friend," Icicle mewed, touching noses with the gray she-cat. White returned the gesture. "Same with you. This is goodbye huh?"

"Yeah..."

The two close cats looked at each other in the eye. "I'll see you again, someday. Even if it's in Starclan."

-Inbetween-

Watching over them, blue eyes glistened in the darkness. "Well done, kits. I'm sure your father would've been proud of you."


	28. April 1st

Hollyleaf: Where am I? Oh, training with Echo again...Wait are the trees smaller?! (Looks down to see herself with twoleg pelts) I'M A TWOLEG?!

Silveryflight: Oh, hello Hollyleaf. Happy April 1st.

Hollyleaf: But I'm still a paw?!

Silveryflight: That? Editing problems. Anyways, it's time for the meeting.

Hollyleaf: With who? And do you have a darker color than me?

Silveryflight: You'll see, and I have a tan.

-Few minutes later-

Now with three others in the middle of a clearing.

Dewyfern(cheerfully): Hey Hollyleaf! Welcome to the group of weirdos.

Hollyleaf: Uh, hello. Dewyfern?

Silveryflight: And that's Redstrike and Nightshimmer.

Hollyleaf: Nightshimmer? But her left eye is a greenish color?

Nightshimmer(seriously): It's called the mirror effect.

Dewyfern: Sumiki, lighten the tone. It's Prankster Day.

Nightshimmer(magically dumps bucket of water on Dewyfern with a smirk): I know, Juliana.

Dewyfern: That's a nickname, you water bender!

Nightshimmer: Yes, yes. Miss Julia but a thousand times worse.

Dewyfern: Oh, you are on!

While Nightshimmer and Dewyfern scrabble with each other, Hollyleaf notices something leaning against the rock Redstrike is sitting.

Hollyleaf: What is that?

Redstrike: It's my sword. I don't recommend trying to lift it because of how heavy it is.

Hollyleaf: What is it call?

Redstrike: Hedagiri.

Silveryflight: Also more fondly called by my mate, the Earthquake Sword.

Redstrike: Mostly because its ridiculous weight, Quetzalcoatl. Even robots would have a hard time lifting.

Hollyleaf: I think I need to wake up now.

Silveryflight: I am a lucid dreamer, so alright. (Snaps fingers)

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 **And Hollypaw is awake. In case you haven't notice or don't know; this is also a slight crossover with Life After Karasumori. April Fools with boxes of paperwork. I apologize if I still can't update a month after this.**


End file.
